La Isla Bonita
by Alicia Jo Twain
Summary: A modern day Christian and Satine get stuck on a desert island. Adventurous fluff ensues!
1. That Don’t Impress Me Much

Chapter 1

**That Don't Impress Me Much  
**

It was a beautiful bright morning and Satine was enjoying the feel of fresh wind blowing in her face. The rocking of the boat back and forth reminded her of a rocking chair. She had rented out a speedboat an hour ago upon yesterday's insistence of one of the tour guides who claimed it would be an unforgettable experience. It wasn't so bad really, except that there were no cigarettes. She quite liked the looking around in the vast ocean and seeing nothing but the clear horizon. A beautiful sight indeed. It had been a long while since she had felt this relaxed, this free with no other thought on her mind, but of the seagulls that flew above and the fish she could see through the transparently blue sea. She closed her eyes and let the scent of the saltwater enter her senses. Thank God, she took this vacation. This morning was pure bliss.

When she opened her eyes again she noticed something in the distance. A ship? As she accelerated the speed of the boat and headed towards that "thing", it became bigger. Much bigger than a ship. It was land! Satine looked behind her to check if her "own" land was still in sight. Barely. Should she go back? The image before her grew bigger and bigger and she discerned some type of trees, probably palm trees, on what she presumed to be an island. She was too curious to turn back now. She got increasingly impatient studying every fraction of what she could see from such a distance. Then she noticed there was a clearing before the trees, a beach, and there was something moving... it was something... or someone... jumping up and down. Maybe they were in trouble? Soon enough the jumping figure turned into what seemed to be a man doing jumping jacks. Or, was he waving? She couldn't tell. She should at least see if they needed help, although it didn't seem likely, as there was a boat up on the shore.

As the wind blew more strongly the waves began to rock the speedboat more violently, pushing it even faster towards the island. The water splashed about creating small damp circles of saltwater on her clothes. It was getting scary. She wasn't easily intimidated, but the ocean did not seem as welcoming as observed from the beach and she just hoped to reach dry land in one piece.

The funny thing was that the sun was still shining, as brightly as before, there was no reason for the weather to go bad. She glanced back to "her" land but it was gone. There was nothing in sight anymore but the island ahead of her with the jumping-jack man she could see quite well now. He was jumping and waving his arms but it didn't really seem like the place or the time to be doing jumping jacks. After all the weird people she'd met in her short life, doing jumping jacks on a beach could hardly be categorized as weird.

Satine was getting closer to the shore when she noticed numerous rocks above water, her speedboat ready to crash into them any moment. They wove a tight labyrinth in the water before her and as she took a hold of the steering handle she tried to avoid them as best as she could. Then as if by divine intervention the waves died down and stopped pushing her boat so strongly.

In what seemed to be an endless half hour her speedboat finally hit the shore as the stranger helped her out of the boat.

"Thank you," she said.

He smiled, "Thank you, I would be stuck on this island if it weren't for you," he said in an unusual accent, kind of British. She wasn't sure.

"What about your boat?" she asked pointing to the wooden boat nearby.

"It leaked through," he said regrettably.

"Tough luck! But what can you expect from these tropical countries?! I'm sure they don't have half the regulations we have back home."

He frowned, "Yeah, but at least they don't have smog and environmental problems."

Uh-oh, she'd only met this man and she had already given the wrong impression. But it didn't surprise her, she always did. Only the people that really knew her knew she wasn't what she seemed to be, but then again there weren't that many people that knew her so well.

"Shall we get going?"

She stared at him, still in her own world.

"Before the waves start again..."

"Yeah, sure..." it was time she got back anyway; she'd scheduled an appointment at the hotel spa for a full treatment of all the services they had to offer. It had been ages since she'd gone to a beauty salon – and not out of personal preference – and although her split ends didn't show in her naturally curly hair it was still time to give them a little trim. Besides, it was all complimentary. She could really get used to this paid vacation time.

Satine got into the boat, as did the stranger after he pushed it off shore. She let him tend to the motor engine. Not that he minded. He tugged at the rope, to turn the engine on, but he only got weird crackling noises. He tried again. Same result.

"Let me try," said Satine impatiently. She hated when men acted all I-know-everything when in fact they had no clue what they were doing.

She tugged at the rope once and again but without success. Ugh!! She was beginning to hate these tropical vacation spots. In the movies something always went wrong.

Satine looked at him, not knowing what to say. The speedboat had already started drifting towards open sea.

"I guess you're out of gas," he said matter-of-factly, but with no worry in his voice.

Satine's guard was already up, "Are you saying it's my fault?"

"Not at all," but seeing as they had no time to argue he jumped out of the boat into the shallow water creating a splash that almost soaked him whole. He held out his hand to her; she involuntarily took it and as she was about to jump into the water like he did, he suddenly caught the backs of her knees with his other hand and swung her into his arms; she had to quickly grab his neck in order to keep her balance, essentially hugging him.

As soon as she was aware of what had happened she started yelling at him, "Put me down, put me down!!" she tried to wriggle out of the embrace but it was useless, he was too strong. She would still not give up and continued to yell, hitting him on the chest with her fisted hands.

In return he ignored her completely and carried her out of the water. As she saw that they had reached dry land she ordered once again in a threatening voice, emphasizing each word, "Put. Me. Down!"

"As you wish, Ma'am," he said as if unaffected by the whole incident and instantly dropped her on the sand.

As she fell on the sand, ass first, she let out a cry, "Ouch!!! You moron!!"

He just looked at her and said, "You said to put you down."

"I didn't mean drop me!"

"A little technicality." He grinned.

He had nice teeth she noticed, but then reproached herself for even thinking such a thing about someone so arrogant.

He must have realized he was out of line so he offered her his hand. She scowled at him and declined it. Getting up on her own, she brushed the sand off her clothes.

He turned to face the ocean.

She did the same. The speedboat was now already far in the water pushed by the feeble waves.

"Oh well!" she heard the stranger mutter to himself.

"So what now?" she asked accusingly.

"I don't know," he replied unperturbed.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I don't know, I have no clue, I just got here an hour before you did."

"Well since it's your fault we're stuck here in the first place..."

"My fault?" he looked at her incredulously.

"If you hadn't been doing frantic jumping jacks I would never have come here to help you in the first place!"

"Jumping jacks?" he asked surprised.

"You know... jumping jacks," she said irritated and gave him a demonstration of a few.

"I was waving! For help!"

"Yeah, well... they looked like jumping jacks to me!"

"So you mean to tell me that when you saw me the only possible scenario in your head was that I was doing jumping jacks alone on a deserted island and you just couldn't fight the curiosity of coming to see why someone would be here alone doing jumping jacks?!!" he asked quite rhetorically.

"Well I saw your boat and assumed..."

"Assumed what? That I was a wacko?"

"Well... kind of..." she replied slightly ashamed of how stupid it all sounded when he said it.

He laughed good-naturedly and she gave a sigh of relief.

But he noticed he said, "Don't think you're out of the woods, my dear... Don't think I'll let you pin the blame on me. If you hadn't come to satisfy your curiosity of my jumping jacks you would have run out of gas at open sea and then you'd really be in trouble."

"So... what? Am I supposed to thank you now?"

"Well... yes!" he said sarcastically.

"Ughhh!" she exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ouch!" he replied even though it didn't really hurt. He decided not to say anything else. This was going to be one hell of an adventure and it would be best for everybody if they got along as best as they could.

Satine didn't say anything either. She didn't feel like thinking of a witty remark and she had other things to think about. This wasn't a planned part of her vacation. It would certainly be an unforgettable experience. Damn that tour guide! Why did she ever listen to him?

"It is going to be a long way home," Satine concluded.


	2. Beautiful Stranger

A/N: fbi-woman, thank you for reviewing and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. All you other non-reviewing ppl, please review:) Pretty please?!!

Chapter 2

**Beautiful Stranger**

Christian was slowly rationalizing in his mind what was to be done in a situation such as this. And who was this beautiful woman that had been thrown into this adventure with him? He glanced at her quickly, noticing a frown on her face. She might be beautiful but she seemed to be a very troubled individual, psychologically. He had a sixth sense of sensing such things about people upon meeting them. It helped when choosing his friends – male and female. He just couldn't be around people who were tense all the time. He was a relaxed person and found it difficult to understand people who weren't. It troubled him at times that he did not have comprehension for people with problems, but he just never felt comfortable around them and figured why torture oneself and pretend to enjoy spending time with such people. The other thing he valued in people was honesty so he could never be anything but honest. He was that sort of guy. That's why he never got as many dates as his friends. He couldn't pretend he was attracted to someone if he wasn't. End of story. It had kept him out of trouble occasionally but his friends didn't understand. No one really did. He had yet to meet the person that would.

After an indefinite silence, Christian opted to break it.

"So what's your name?" he inquired casually.

"Why d'you wanna know?" Satine replied, not lowering her guard for one second.

"Well... it seems like we're gonna be stuck here for a while. Alone. Together. What am I going to call you? Girl?" retorted Christian sarcastically.

"And I can call you boy!" she laughed arrogantly, pretending to be amused by the whole situation, when in fact she was worried to death. She was alone, stuck on a deserted island with someone she didn't know… someone she didn't trust... and yet he didn't seem malicious or hypocritical, like most men she knew. Instead, there was something about him... he seemed truly genuine. That's what her heart told her. But following her heart had brought her so much heartache in the past that she had long forgotten to listen to it.

Christian's ironic voice took her out of her own world, "Now seriously... is there anything boyish about me?"

Satine looked at him head to toe... There wasn't much boyish there, she had to agree. That was a real man standing before her and she had to admit he was quite handsome – nice brown hair and a manly shaved face. He wore a white undershirt as a tank top, beneath which nicely formed muscles were showing. His legs were okay, nothing special really, but good enough. He had big hands, but they didn't seem rough. As he brought his hand to his face to bush away a strand of hair from his face, Satine was amazed. His movements were so soft and gentle, as if he were carrying a baby and didn't want to wake it. Then she looked into his eyes... Eyes that mesmerized her instantly. They had a spark in them... The deepest eyes she'd ever seen, as if she could look into his soul. And there was so much there for one single soul: boyish mischief combined with a note of seriousness, a don't-worry-be-happy outlook, love, a lot of love... and plenty of faith.

"So am I man enough for you?" Christian repeated, seeing as his words had no effect the first time.

Satine wanted to say something about the boyish mischief she saw, but she reckoned it would sound stupid so she arrogantly replied with an air of European royalty, "That is yet to be seen."

"So what do I call you, girl?"

"Well..." Satine would still not let her guard down, while at the same time she enjoyed this teasing.

"Fine! I'll call you girl! Girl, girl, girl!!" Christian chanted as he circled around her like a sorcerer casting an evil spell on his prisoner.

Satine was getting impatient, "Okay, Okay, you can call me Satine. You spell it S-a-t-"

"I'm quite aware of how it is spelt, mademoiselle Satine."

"How did you know it was French?" Satine asked, not managing to hide her surprise.

"I have my sources," replied Christian with a glint of satisfaction in his eyes, which her own quick eyes did not miss.

So he was quite smart. So what? He wasn't going to get the better of her.

"And what shall I call you, monsieur?" as she gave an overworked laugh, purposely showing it was fake.

"Well... I don't know..."

"Ohhh!!! You are just impossible!" she yelled exasperated, as she waved her arms about. She didn't understand how she even remotely hoped they would get along.

He was quiet, and watching him so calm and carefree she gave up and turned to walk away.

"Christian."

She spun around. He'd said it so frankly, so matter-of-factly; she didn't know why one simple word had warmed her heart so. But she kept her cool.

"Christian what?"

"Just Christian."

"But you do have a last name!"

"So do you."

"Fine!"

"Fine."

They locked gazes for a second, each heart beating faster, but upon seeing the flames of passion rise in their irises, both got scared and each went their own opposite ways along the seashore, waves playing catch with their ankles.

!  
scscscscsc  
!

Christian was doubtful. He didn't know what to make of her... Satine. What a truly wonderful name it was. He sighed. He didn't really understand what was going on inside of him. He didn't even know her and yet he felt a connection with her instantly. And she wasn't even his type, even just to be a friend. He didn't like uneasy nervous people, they made him jumpy and being a carefree soul it just wasn't him.

But with Satine it was different. He enjoyed teasing her and the jumpy feeling inside that he felt in her presence was a change he welcomed in his heart, although his mind could not explain any of it. Being as he was, it didn't bother him much. He was content with simply thinking about her, taking pleasure in remembering the beautiful features of her face, the look she had given him with those sharp eyes of hers, imagining the silhouette her slender figure would make... The rest would take care of itself, in due time. That's how he lived his life and was rarely disappointed with the results. Okay, so he wasn't the world's richest man, nor did he have anything to really boast about, but he had a job that he loved which permitted him a comfortable lifestyle. Not that he needed much, he was probably one of the most non-materialistic people on Earth, although he never thought of such things. He never even had fantasies about being the "world's best" in anything. He did not worry or care about recognition from the world. Christian was a free soul. And being stuck here on this remote island was not something that bothered him in the least, in fact he had unconsciously longed for such an adventure, thrill, and experience all his life. The society he lived in was too limiting and judgmental for him to feel comfortable in, not having found a soulmate with whom to share the pleasures of life with.

As he walked and wondered when he would see Satine again, he felt out of breath, which made him realize that he had been walking quite fast so he sat down on the sand admiring the sight of the waves playing with the sun's rays. He noticed a twig nearby and with no conscious effort he began writing her name in the sand. As each wave extended itself over the sand it would erase the inscription and he would repeat the motion as if bewitched.


	3. Paradise Not For Me

A/N: fbi-woman - thanks again for reviewing. I'm glad you're enjoying the story… I have a couple of the next chapters already written but I seem to be having some trouble figuring out how to end this story so I'm stalling :p Any comments or suggestions would be most welcome :) either through email or the review. Hope you enjoy this chapter… there is some drama in this chapter but bear with me – plenty of fluff ahead. 

ihearttheo.c – thank you for reviewing, and hope you enjoy this chapter too.

**Chapter ****3 **

**Paradise Not For Me **

On the other side of the island Satine was thinking the whole situation over. She often did that. Think. About everything. She overanalyzed every little detail. Satine was not one to go with the flow; she always considered the consequences before taking action. She could not be convinced to do anything she thought was wrong. People thought of her as no-fun and rigid, but she did not care what they thought of her. As she saw it, she was only looking out for her future and the best way to do that was to stay focused. She did not care that "everybody" smoked pot or that "everybody" did bungee jumping. She was voted "most likely to end up a workaholic" in high school. "But, look at where I am now and look at where they are," she mindlessly stated.

OK, so she was stuck on a desert island, but apart from that she had done quite well for herself. She was good at what she did, and her co-workers respected her. Promotions never ceased and financially she was in the golden years of her career. Although some people were envious of her success, she had earned every single cent. Her hard work reflected in the late hours she insisted on putting in. Contrary to her boss's wishes, she was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. There were even rumors going around the office that she did not have a home, but slept in the office. The rumors were not true, of course, but many a morning she found herself waking on the office desk, her body stiff from the uncomfortable night. Those nights, coincidentally enough, were usually followed by a promotion or raise so she did not mind. However, she did be careful with appearances, if nothing but for her boss's sake, and always had a change of clothes at work so people would have less to talk about.

Her boss... Satine smiled at the mere thought of him. He was a jolly fellow, always ready to make big money, but at the same time always worried about his protégé, as the other co-workers referred to Satine. He knew she worked too much and was always convincing her to go on holiday. He did care for her, but he also knew he had to look out for his _golden goose_; after all she did most of the work and kept the place running. Precisely because of that fact no one dared cross her path. Some might not have liked her but they did recognize that without her, lining success after success, they might be out of a job altogether. It was the unwritten rule that everyone followed. Theirs was an environment of mutual gain. And Satine did not mind it one bit. Sure, she felt lonely at times and wished she had gone to at least a few of the work gatherings organized by her co-workers, but she always had better things to do. More productive things than having fun and enjoying herself. She had learned and accepted long ago that that was the price she had to pay for success, and now she did it more than willingly. It kept people at a distance and that way no one could hurt her. Ever.

Her thoughts went back to her boss, Harry. She fondly remembered the episode that took place in her office only a few days ago.

"_Another late night, Satine?" inquired Harry._

_Satine smiled, "Yeah, but don't worry about me, I just want to finish this and then I'll be off."_

"_That's what you always say."_

"_Well... you know me. Someone's gotta keep this place running."_

"_That's what I came to talk to you about, Satine." _

_Harry sat down, tracing his fingers over the golden plaque on Satine's desk that read _executive supervisor.

"_When was the last time you had a day off?"_

_Satine briefly looked up from her paperwork and rolled her eyes slightly, "Here we go again."_

"_Don't you here-we-go-again me!" said Harry raising his voice at first, and then softening his tone, "You need a vacation."_

_Satine replied in a frustrated tone of voice, "I don't understand why_ everybody _keeps pushing me to take days off! Why can't you understand that there are certain people who just don't need a vacation. Ever!" Satine's gaze went back to her paperwork and she calmly stated, "I am proud to announce that I am one of them."_

"_Everybody needs a vacation, chickpea." Harry often used his nickname for her when they were alone, especially when he needed to convince her of something, stubborn as she was. _

_At the sound of her dear pet name Satine's heart softened, but she held her ground, "I just don't think this is the right time... we have so much to do..."_

"_You_ always _have so much to do, this place won't collapse in two weeks without you here. Besides, my mind's already made up," Harry finished sternly._

"_Well so is mine, I'm not going," Satine replied stubbornly. The last thing she needed was a vacation. To have 24 hours a day to think about how she had no friends or family, no one to come home to... Satine briefly got lost in her own reverie. _

"_Well, Satine, I think you're going to have to go," Harry brought Satine's mind back to the current situation. _

"_Says who?" she was getting quite angry at his insistence._

"_Me! If you don't go, you're fired!" Harry yelled._

_Satine was taken aback, speechless. Harry had never yelled at her before. And fired!! Her work was so important to her that she couldn't imagine having to leave everything. Having to leave the place where she'd spent all of her adult life and all that she had worked so hard for. Satine often had nightmares of being fired and left on the street without a penny. And no matter how far she got and how much money she had, that subconscious fear was always there, catching her unprepared in the night._

"_I'm only doing this for your own good," said Harry gently, seeing such fear in those blue eyes of hers. _

"_I know..." Satine responded quietly. Harry had been like a father to her for the last ten years. At seventeen, young and inexperienced, he had taken her in to work as an intern while she finished high school. Harry had recognized a hard-worker in Satine and made it his personal mission to help her reach her full potential. He was the first person to truly believe in her and support her in her professional growth. After finishing university Harry offered her a full-time job, a good paycheck, and a promotion. As Satine was given more responsibility she proved that the faith put in her had been more than justified. _

"_Then it is settled. You leave tomorrow."_

"_Tomorrow?" there was panic in Satine's voice._

"_Yes, tomorrow." Harry replied firmly. "No but's."_

"_Okay, okay. I'll go to the travel agent's first thing in the morning."_

"_No need for that, I've already arranged everything. Well... Polynesian Airlines have arranged everything. They liked the piece we did on them so much that they gave us a two-week all-expenses-paid vacation package to one of their most prestigious holiday resorts."_

"_Does that mean you are coming with me?" Satine asked hopefully._

"_I'm afraid not, someone has to work around here!" Harry replied with a wink._

"_Oh, Harry, but I couldn't. You've always told me how much you wanted to go to Polynesia. That's why you so insisted we do the piece," Satine said, touched by his willingness to give up his long-desired holiday for her._

"_There'll be other opportunities. This is what you need right now. I can wait, but your health can't."_

"_But I'm fine," Satine insisted._

"_The hell you are! When was the last time you had a properly cooked meal?"_

"_Well..." she tried hard to remember when was the last time she ate out rather than take-out. _

"_My point exactly. Now you're going to go on that trip and come back brand new with not a worry in the world."_

"_I don't know about that, but I'll try." Satine ceded reluctantly. _

"_And no cigarettes!"_

"_But Harry..."_

"_No but's. You are going to have the healthiest vacation you've ever had!"_

"_Fine."_

"_And one more thing."_

"_What?"_

"_No cell phone."_

_She laughed exasperated, "You're lucky you caught me in the middle of the night so I don't have enough energy to fight you on that one. I guess it's a deal."_

The cold seawater splashing on her long legs brought Satine out of her reverie as she continued walking down the beach. Suddenly, she noticed something in the distance. She quickened her pace. It was someone sitting on the beach. The person resembled a male figure. She was sure it was Christian. Christian! Her heart skipped a beat. Satine felt inexplicably drawn to him, needing to be near him as soon as possible. It took all her willpower to refrain her from running to him.


	4. Your Song

A/N: The poem part was supposed to be an original poem that one of my friend's wrote, but since I do not have her permission to post it online (she might one day become a published author) so I chose to slip in "Do You Know Where You're Going To", theme from the movie "Mahogany" (1975), written by Gerald Goffin and Michael Masser, originally recorded by Diana Ross (Cover versions of the song were recorded in the late 1990-ies by Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez, which is how I came to know the song.). I think it works quite well in lieu of my original idea. In this chapter the second verse of "Do You Know Where You're Going To" has pronoun changes compared to the original song and the two last lines of the poem/song are mine, I felt it needed a more positive ending.

Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4

**Your Song **

Christian had continued writing Satine's name in the sand over and over again, his mind blank except for the word Satine. Then, all of a sudden, he felt words and phrases fill his mind. They ran through Christian like a current, strong and swift, without pausing, simply surfacing in his consciousness. It all went through his head so fast that he was unable to concentrate on their meaning. It was like his soul was talking to him but his mind could not follow. Christian let the ideas channel into the sand as the twig in his hand frantically tried to keep up.

Once the flood of ideas stopped, Christian stood up, bewildered at what he had just created. It read:

_Do you know where you're going to?  
Do you like the things that life is showing you?  
Where are you going to?  
Do you know?  
Do you get what you're hoping for?  
When you look behind you there's no open door  
What are you hoping for?  
Do you know?  
_

_Now looking back at all you've had  
You let so many dreams just slip through your hands  
Why must you wait so long before you see  
All your dreams are still out there  
__Just waiting for you _

He could not believe he had just written a poem. A real poem! "And it's pretty good", Christian thought, "for a first". If you did not count his disastrous tries in high school that even his English teacher barely dared comment. But this was a true poem. Not in the league of Walt Whitman or Maya Angelou, but a poem nonetheless. Christian felt quite proud in spite of his inborn modesty. And it was all thanks to her. Satine. She had been his inspiration, his muse, and it was only right that it be for her. Rereading the poem he realized it lacked a title. Just as the poem had come to him, so did the title.

"Your Song" he wrote above the writings on the sand.

"There. Perfect! As perfect as any poem of mine ever will be," Christian thought. He was not being negative, but rather realistic. He knew poetry would never be his forte, despite this momentary lapse.

As Christian looked at his work of art, as he called it, he was so absorbed in his own world that he did not notice Satine approaching. She did not mean to be sneaky but she was curious and Christian seemed lost in his own thoughts so she just stood nearby, squinting, trying to make out the words in the sand.

It was a poem. A good poem. Satine was taken aback. It was not that she thought he was stupid or untalented, but rather how she could identify with the poem. Satine felt as if it was written precisely for her.

"Get a grip, Satine," she told herself, "he just met you, he's not going to write you a poem!"

Satine shook her head violently, as she usually did to free her mind, literally and symbolically, her big soft curls flying about. Christian sensed someone's presence and spun around muttering, "Sa-Satine??" looking at her unbelievingly, "How long have you been standing there?"

Satine felt he was not too happy to see her and she did not want to be accused of spying, so she replied, "Oh, I just got here."

"What's that?" Satine continued, pointing to the poem.

"Oh, nothing, just some scribbling I did to relax," Christian said nonchalantly, keeping his carefree attitude, purposely stepping to the left, to block Satine's view of the poem.

Satine realized that he did not want her seeing the poem, and for some reason it hurt her inside. Satine felt he was drawing away from her by hiding the poem, and that only made her withdraw deeper into her own shell. She felt disappointed but her mind did not provide a reason. Why did she care?

Satine mentally pushed those thoughts away. His behavior and her disappointment were just two large neon signs warning her to stay as uninvolved with Christian as humanly possible. He was no good for her. And the sooner she got off this bloody island the better.

There was an awkward silence between the two, as a huge wave crashed against the shore, erasing every trace of the beautiful poem. Christian gave a sigh of relief, while Satine shivered as the cold rush of water slapped her ankles. This was not a place where she wanted to be, and Christian was definitely not the person she wanted to be with.

"This sucks," she muttered to herself.

Christian heard her complaint. He sat down on the sand. Christian's jaw was set tight, his eyes focused on the sunset, and his eyelids blinked hard; he refused to let his sadness roll down his cheeks because of her.

* * *

Satine was nervously pacing up and down the imaginary line that her mind had drawn in the sand. She could not keep her hands still. It took all her inner strength not to shove her fingers into her mouth! Biting her nails was a nasty habit that had taken so much willpower to break that she was not about to fall off the wagon because of a small bump on the road. Besides, her hands looked healthy and lady-like now. Just like she had always wanted them to be.

Satine smiled while she admired her hands, one of her numerous accomplishments, and she fully intended to keep that trophy on her mantel!

Christian was still casually seated on the sand, relaxing. The salty scent of the sea had calmed his inner turmoil and he was once again his carefree self. Out of the corner of his eye he was attentively observing Satine. He could not understand how someone could be so stressed all the time. Where did she find the energy?

Christian tried not to look, but he felt extremely drawn to her image. Satine was like a magnet and his eyes were like steel, pulled by her littlest movement. But he was not going to let her know, not if he could help it. She was overconfident as it was and for all he knew she would call him a sex-maniac and run off somewhere. Christian, however, saw the smile.

"Is that a smile I see?"

Satine was abruptly brought out of her little reverie. She stared at Christian for a couple of seconds, processing what he had just said. Christian returned the stare with his big blue eyes twinkling. Upon realizing what Christian had said Satine snapped out of it and resumed her pacing.

Christian shrugged and resumed his cloud-observing, laughing as he noticed one of a monkey dancing atop an elephant.

Satine became increasingly nervous, especially with Christian being so cheerful and lighthearted.

"How do you do it?" she questioned accusingly, towering over his seated figure.

"Do what?" Christian asked, looking up at her innocently, although he had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about.

"This!!" she said frustrated, motioning at him with her arms.

Christian still looked clueless, secretly enjoying this emotional outburst – Satine was so beautiful when she was angry.

"How can you be so calm when we're on a desert island all alone with no food or shelter? What if it starts raining?"

"For starters, I can't think straight when I panic."

"Do you ever?"

"Well... no," he said matter-of-factly.

Satine made an of-course-you-don't face.

"As for my other point, I am not alone... you're here," he continued before Satine had anything to add, "Furthermore, even deserted islands have trees and fruit and I can fish. Then again, you don't look like you eat much," he added.

Admiring her slim figure, Christian asked, "Are you a model or something?"

"No!" she yelled, exasperated by his demeanor. Although deep down, very deep down, she let herself feel flattered.

"Phew!" Christian overemphasized his sigh of relief.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing in particular, it's just good to know we have two brains going for us."

Satine's anger grew to fury, "It's called looking after your body, you…"

Satine momentarily found herself at a loss for words; she was dying to insult Christian, but wanted to sound at least semi-smart since she had already lost her temper. Satine took a deep breath mentally, she could hardly give him the satisfaction of actually taking a real breath, and continued, "Aren't you just picture perfect for a sexist ad?! For your information, models don't have to be dumb and many are actually smart!"

"Well I don't know... I mean, look at that Kate Moss girl – if being anorexic isn't dumb then I don't know what is."

"This conversation, obviously," Satine turned her back to him went back to her pacing.

Christian's lips formed into a sly grin and as he stared at the horizon, he continued, "As for number four... I was going to say that we would look for shelter when it started raining... but I think that time has come," he said as he felt cold refreshing drops of water on his face.

"Well great! Isn't that just bloody great?! If I get sick you can expect a lawsuit from me."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"I hate to repeat myself, but what is that supposed to mean?"

"Do you have to try to analyze everything I say?"

"If you think I'm going to fall for this lame attempt of deflecting my question by asking one yourself, you are sadly mistaken," Satine replied condescendingly.

Christian, however, was hardly listening. The raindrops had become more frequent and the dark clouds in the distance warned of an upcoming storm.

"We'd better go, or we'll catch pneumonia," Christian stated ignoring Satine's last comment. Arguing with Satine could not help the predicament they were in, but pneumonia would definitely make it worse. He got up and headed towards the inside of the island.

"Hey! Wait up!" Satine yelled after him as she felt a chill go through her body at the mere thought of pneumonia.

"Being with this Christian fellow is better than being alone," Satine thought as she followed Christian. She hoped she was right.

* * *


	5. Breathless

A/N: As you may already have noticed, my chapters are titled after songs, as is the story's title. The lyrics in the actual song might not have anything to do with the specific chapter, but in some chapters it might :o) Therefore, I might use certain song titles that fit chapters but that are not necessarily my favorite songs.

- "La Isla Bonita", "Beautiful Stranger" and "Paradise Not For Me" are Madonna songs.  
- "That Don't Impress Me Much" is a Shania Twain song from 1998, I believe.  
- "Your Song" is an Elton John song, covered by Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge, duh.  
- "Breathless" is a pop song by Irish band The Corrs.

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to review. Thank you :)

* * *

Chapter 5

**Breathless**

Satine and Christian had been running through the island's flora as fast as they could for fifteen minutes without stopping. Trees, plants, and bushes blocked their way, cutting their bare legs, while tree branches caught onto their clothes, hindering the pair's speed. Although the terrain was fairly flat, the untrodden path was difficult to traverse. Christian was surprised at how fit Satine was. Even more impressing was the fact that she did not complain once. Meanwhile, he was barely keeping up and the cuts on his legs, although superficial, stung. Christian hoped they would find shelter soon because he did not think he could go on for much longer.

"Christian! I think I see something. Look!"

Christian focused his eyes to their left, where Satine was pointing to a hole in a rock.

"Well done! Let's go!"

Satine and Christian ran into the cave-like opening, crossing the threshold as triumphantly as marathon runners cross the finish line in the Olympics.

Satine fell to her knees, panting rapidly, her hair falling around her face soggy and lifeless, as was she. Satine felt as if she was about to die, never had she run so fast in her life. She was breathless and ached all over. She was not a fan of running and practiced it only as a desperate measure in desperate circumstances, such as catching her flight. The only thing that kept her going today was her pneumonia-phobia. And Christian... Well, she didn't want to give him another opportunity to make sexist remarks by seeming 'girly'.

Once in the cave Christian had stopped running, but remained standing. He kicked the muddy sandals off his feet not wishing to dirty the entire cavern floor. Satine silently followed Christian's example, but for a different reason. She wished not to dirty herself or her clothes with her mud-covered sneakers. Unlike their footwear, their clothes were merely damp from the gently drops of the early rain and however skimpy Christian concluded that even their sparse apparel was better than no clothing at all. If for no other purpose than to allow him to focus his eyes and mind on the pressing matters at hand; there was no denying the hold Satine's physique had over Christian.

He looked at Satine for a moment before approaching her and touching her shoulder kindly.

"Get up, Satine," he said gently.

"What the hell?!" Satine snarled instinctively, turning her head to look at Christian as wet strands of hair draped over her face through which her blue eyes revealed a menacing look.

"Quickly! Just get up... Trust me," Christian calmly replied, ignoring Satine's reaction, as he lifted her to her feet. Satine had no choice. Christian made her pace quickly around the cave with him. She was too confused for words.

When her gift of speech returned Satine exploded, "What the hell is this for? I feel like I've just run a marathon and all I want to do is rest. Do you enjoy torturing me?"

Christian continued gently pushing her in front of him to walk as he casually inquired, "Speaking of the marathon, do you know how it got its name?"

"No!" Satine mumbled grumpily, thinking he was purposely changing the subject.

Christian completely ignored her verbal defiance and started his story, "In Greece, 42 km from Athens, there's a place called Marathon that served as battleground a long long time ago in a war between the Persians and Greeks."

Satine had _no_ idea where all this pacing and this stupid story was going but she did not care, she was too tired to argue and wished with all her might that it would be over as soon as possible so she could sprawl her sweaty aching body on the cold cave floor and relieve the soreness of her muscles and her mind.

"So the Persians and the Greeks fought many battles and finally the Greeks won. They had managed to defend their fatherland and preserve their freedom. But word had to be sent to Athens. So one soldier, the one with the quickest feet, was chosen to be the messenger and received order to run to Athens to take the good news to the people. And so he went. He ran and ran and ran, without stopping, and after 42 kmhe reached Athens and uttered _We won!_ just a moment before he fell to the ground, dead."

The end of the story sent shivers down Satine's back, "Oh... how horrible."

"Exactly... see my point?" Christian asked rhetorically.

Satine gave him a blank stare for a moment and then exclaimed, "Oh! I get it."

There was an awkward pause between the two as they stopped walking, their breathing and heartbeat returning to normal.

"Well... thank you," Satine said quietly, purposely not looking Christian in the eye.

"Don't mention it."

Christian smiled.

Satine smiled back.

* * *

Seated on the damp floor of the cave, the pair regained energy. Sticky and exhausted, Satine and Christian quietly navigated through their own separate thoughts. 

The cave itself was not particularly unusual. Nothing but stone surrounded the duo causing a drop in the air temperature. The cave was no big deal, as Satine saw it. But Christian was fascinated. He had been observing the interior walls of the cavern and had noticed rough lines that resembled drawings on the cave walls; they seemed very old. Christian was fascinated with prehistoric civilizations, especially those of the Stone Age. Therefore, discovering an undiscovered cave with human drawings was exciting. He wished he had his camera.

Satine, unlike Christian, was hugging her knees, trying to warm up. She was freezing and numb all over. She desperately wanted a cigarette. Satine hated everything: this bloody island, her increased stress level due to the lack of civilized infrastructure around her, and her growling stomach. All she wanted was a warm comfortable bed. Was that too much to ask for on her holiday? Everything that could possibly go wrong during her trip had gone completely and utterly wrong!

Christian heard her mutter something and he turned to look at her, "Did you say something?"

Satine cleared her throat, "I said I wanted a cigarette."

"I doubt you'll find any on the island."

"I had two whole cartons of them before I left civilization."

"But you smoked them all?" Christian chimed in, teasingly.

"No!" she said, obviously irritated, "The waves became turbulent and rocked the speedboat and the cartons fell out."

"What a shame," Christian said, genuinely sorry.

Satine looked surprised.

"For the fish I mean," he explained, "to think that all that shite is in the ocean now. As if it isn't polluted enough."

"Well, sor-ry, Mr. Ecology," Satine said, separately emphasizing the two syllables in 'sorry'.

Christian studied her face for a moment. Satine hated being stared at, especially knowing that she was being judged.

"What now?" she questioned him in an intimidating manner.

"Nothing. You just don't seem like the person to smoke."

"What's it to you?" Satine nonchalantly asked, purposely implying that she did not care about his opinion.

"Oh, nothing! I just hate smoking."

Satine did not have any more energy to fight him. She let her guard down as resignation filled her voice, "Well, that's just another reason for you to hate me, I guess."

Christian was shocked! How could she possibly think he hated her?

"I do _not_ hate you, Satine," he said quietly, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Christian was very earnest, and sounded so genuine that Satine had no doubt that he meant what he said. She, however, could not think of an appropriate response so she remained quiet.

Christian was not quite sure she had heard him, but suddenly there was such peace in the quiet cavern that he opted not to break it. They remained seated opposite each other for the longest time, enjoying the tap-tap sound of the now already heavy raindrops on the ground outside, just an arm's length from their cold bare feet.

* * *


	6. You're Innocent When You Dream

A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than usual but I think it makes it more effective. I have not yet written the kiss, hint hint (meaning that it's still far off) BUT I promise VERY good stuff in anticipation of the big K.

This chapter is dedicated to fbi-woman and ilovetheo.c, my most faithful reviewers. I hope that you enjoy this chapter :wink:

All you other lurkers out there, please review and make my day :)

"You're Innocent When You Dream" was covered by the multitalented Jill Hennessy for the Crossing Jordan soundtrack – amazing song, very soulful, you should check it out!

* * *

Chapter 6

**You're Innocent When You Dream**

The rain was still falling heavily outside as Christian and Satine sat in silence.

Satine, still hugging her knees, finally muttered, "I'm cold."

Christian slowly got up and sat behind her, placing his legs around her legs and his arms around her shoulders, his own hands meeting at her knees. Christian was wrapping Satine's body with his own in a full body hug.

"Hey! Whaddya think you're doing?" Satine yelled in panic, her body tensing up, not quite knowing what to do. She liked the feeling of being protected and warm, but this was too much physical contact from someone was Mr. Wrong from the very start.

Christian had not moved, but replied in a soothing tone in contrast to Satine's alarmed one, "Relax, Satine. It's called body heat."

Satine felt a little silly. Much of her outbursts of the day had been a result of her interpreting Christian's every move as a sexual advance. And every time she seemed to be wrong. Satine was so used to guys hitting on her that her interactions with the male species were inevitably skewed in men's disfavor. Satine had not realized this until now. Perhaps the timing of Satine's realization of her issue was not so strange, considering that Christian was the first man she had met that had not yet revealed an obvious physical attraction to her, apart from her gay friends. Thinking back, Satine realized that all the men that she had met were all somehow crude and raw; she often attributed this to her bad karma. In Christian, however, she saw a potential karma upgrade, unless he too turned out to be gay. 'That would be just my luck', Satine thought.

As Satine's stream of consciousness came to a calming, yet sarcastic, end, she began to relax. She did not feel so cold anymore.

Hmm. This Christian fellow was not turning out so bad after all.

* * *

Christian, on the other hand, was thinking about food. As much as he was a free spirit, he was also realistic and knew that sooner or later his primal instincts would kick in, as would Satine's Probably sooner, judging by the growl in his stomach. The island was very small as the pair had realized that afternoon on their separate walks. Christian recalled noticing fruit-bearing trees during their quick run in the rain.

"I guess I really will have to fish," Christian thought amused by the whole situation. This island experience was certainly going to be a challenge if nothing else. But he was more than up for it. He just wished Satine was not having such a hard time adjusting to the situation. As Christian's thoughts wondered back to her he noticed she was quiet. Too quiet. She had fallen asleep.

"The poor thing..." thought Christian, "After all that arguing and pacing about all day, no wonder she's worn out." Satine's head was resting on one of his shoulders and he caught himself gazing at her. His eyes traced the lines of her face. Her smooth skin tempted him to caress her cheek. She looked like an angel. It was hard to believe that this woman, who looked so peaceful and serene, was actually the same tense and defensive woman he had spent the day with.

This was probably the only time Satine let her mind rest, and not by choice. Christian wished he could make it easier for her, let her see that she did not need to be in control all the time and that the world would keep on turning.

But that was impossible. She would not let him in. She just wasn't that kind of person. All he could do was hold her while she slept.

* * *

Christian stifled a yawn, which brought him back to reality. He did not even know why he cared at all. It is not like he knew Satine, and the way things were going that did _not_ seem like the next thing on their agenda.

It was getting dark and Christian felt sleepy. Slowly he lowered Satine to the floor, in a sleeping position, careful not to wake her. He lay down beside her, back to back, facing the opposite direction.

In a few minutes Christian heard the chattering of her teeth. As he turned around he saw Satine curl up in a fetal position. She really _was_ cold.

Without thinking Christian turned to face her and hugged her, her back to his chest; his whole body hugged her own as best it could. He put his arm around Satine's and as their hands unintentionally touched, hers instinctively, although still asleep, took his and protectively pulled it to her chest. Satine's action sent a shiver down Christian's spine. Why did he feel like this in her vicinity? And what was it exactly that he was feeling? He did not know. It was a new feeling. A weird feeling. But, essentially, a good feeling.

"Oh well, I'll think about that tomorrow."

Christian was hardly Scarlett O'Hara but he was too tired. It could wait. It's not like he could run away from his feelings, he never did. And it's not like Satine could run away either. They were on a deserted island after all.

* * *


	7. When You're Gone And When You're Here

A/N: "When You're Gone" is the absolutely touching straight-to-the-heart ballad by Avril Lavigne.

No other news except that I am definitely intending to finish this story so do not lose hope, yet! ;) As a pre-warning I don't do sad/tragic endings, but I am a fan of open endings and I still haven't decided exactly how to end this one :p

* * *

Chapter 7

**When You're Gone (and When You're Here)**

The next morning Christian awoke after a long good night's sleep, yawning and stretching on the damp floor. Sleep had done him good; he felt ready to start another day. As he sat up he looked around, but Satine was not there. Getting to his feet Christian stood at the cave opening. It was a beautiful morning and the sun shone brightly above his head, but Christian did not notice. His eyes frantically searched through the surrounding tropical trees for any sight of Satine. As he had feared, there was none.

"Satine, are you there?" he tried calling out, but there was no answer.

Unlike yesterday's reasoning, Christian was already picturing the worst case scenario. Satine had gone further into the cave and had gotten lost. An island beast had come and eaten her, or bats from the cave scared her and she ran as fast as her legs would carry her and stumbled and broke her leg. Or maybe because he was such a jerk yesterday she figured she was better off alone and ate some berries which turned out to be poisonous and she was somewhere out there sprawled before a berry bush, dead.

Each scenario seemed worse than the previous and Christian felt desperate. He had to find Satine. He told himself it was because he did not want to be stuck on a deserted island all alone, but he had been in much worse circumstances, alone. He was that sort of guy, not a loner, but when necessity presented itself solitude could become his best friend. He could and would adjust to any situation, any place, any culture, any time. But Christian was born into that, he had been doing it his entire life. It had taught him never to need anyone; he was the fix-it-yourself type of guy. And he liked it that way. Never depending on anyone. This was precisely the reason why he could not explain the panic he felt at Satine's disappearance – she was probably just walking around somewhere.

And before he could begin an introspective analysis about his attitude towards Satine, a voice brought him out of his thoughts, "Christian. Are you okay? You look a little pale."

Christian looked sideways and he saw Satine standing to his left, safe and sound, with not a single broken bone. He instinctively gave her a bear hug, his face beaming, "I'm so happy you're alright."

Satine was surprised but did not resist the hug. Not that she could. He was quite strong and she had her arms full of fruit she had found during her search.

As Christian composed himself Satine felt his awkwardness, his eyes escaping each time they locked gazes.

"Do you like mangoes?" Satine asked motioning to one of the mangoes in her arms.

"I love them, and I'm famished. Thank you," Christian said sincerely, and then with a sarcastic tone, added "I guess, you're not so useless after all," as he gave her a friendly punch.

In any other circumstance, Satine would have begun yet another discussion on sexism or at least responded with something equally as sarcastic, but after the warm welcome he gave her and his obvious discomfort, she let it go.

They sat down on the floor and ate greedily in silence. Neither had eaten in 24 hours and the mangoes were so good; they were naturally grown in the wilderness, much unlike supermarket mangoes. This was real fruit.

As she ate, Satine glanced at Christian now and then, remembering what she had been pondering over during her walk. When she had awoken that morning she was surprised that the first thing she sensed was the warmth of somebody's body and a steady heartbeat on her back. It was Christian, of course. He was still asleep but his arm had such a strong protective grip on her that it took her ten minutes to wriggle out of the embrace without waking him. She was so touched that he had spent the whole night making sure she was not cold; meanwhile he must have been very cold – he had much lighter clothes than she did. And this was somebody she had just known for a day. It was hard to believe that he really was the good guy he presented himself to be. Her mind was skeptic, but her heart was telling her that there was something different about this guy. Christian was not like all the men she had met before.

Satine could not decide whether to follow her mind or her heart. A continuous battle raged inside her. In most situations the mind won out leaving her feelings repressed and unacknowledged. But here and now it was different. It was just the two of them and she could do what she wanted, without consequences or worry about subsequent awkwardness – once they got off this bloody island it was unlikely she would ever see Christian again.

"Make up your mind, Satine! You have to put up a united front. You cannot work against yourself," her insides shouted at her.

Before she could decide upon the best course of action Christian started talking, "Mmmm... these are good," pointing to the mango in his mouth.

"Actually, I prefer the oranges," Satine replied.

"Well it seems like we're complete opposites," Christian replied.

There was another awkward pause.

Christian realized it would have been better if he had kept his mouth shut. He was used to saying what was on his mind, and that got him into trouble at times. As a general rule he did not bother with people who could not handle the truth and preferred to pretend. That kept his circle of friends quite narrow.

To break the silence Satine replied, "Yeah, I guess we are. That's why we cannot seem to get along."

"What are you talking about?" Christian inquired overemphasizing his astonishment, "We seem to be having a very comfortable getting-along meal, if you ask me."

"That's only because eating keeps me from opening my big mouth."

"Not literally, I hope."

Satine let out a loud laugh. Christian was quite witty.

He smiled, pleased and emboldened by her relaxed attitude, "Besides, you know what they say, opposites attract."

Christian looked at her intently with an almost evil smile on his lips, before he popped another piece of mango into his mouth.

Satine felt really uncomfortable. Was he trying to be humorous or was he telling her he was attracted to her? She didn't know what to think anymore. She just did not seem to be able to figure this guy out. What she _was_ able to figure out was that he was cute and he seemed sincere, when he wasn't pulling her leg.

"So, during my little search for food I found other types of fruit as well, some of which I did not recognize, so I think we'll be okay in terms of food," Satine stated to change the subject once again.

"That's good! We will look for water later."

"Yeah, and also I brought two coconuts," Satine continued pointing to two round shapes near the cave wall, "but we'll have to figure out how to get to the milk inside."

"Good job, Satine! At least food is not a pressing worry. That is very good."

Satine was content; she felt productive and she was glad Christian acknowledged her effort.

"So how did you sleep?" she inquired.

"Fine, although the hard floor reminded me of the army."

She could not believe her ears, "Is that a complaint I'm hearing?"

Christian smiled with a twinkle in his eye, "Maybe. What about you, did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess so. At least I don't think I caught pneumonia."

Christian hesitated for a moment before he said, "Don't get cross or leave, but do you _always_ think so negative?"

Satine's first instinct was to get defensive but after rerunning the first part of his statement through her mind she replied, "No I do not, I just have a thing about pneumonia."

"You mean like a pneumonia-phobia?"

Satine nodded slightly. Ughh! She was not supposed to say that. She knew exactly what words would follow.

"Why?" Christian asked, full of curiosity.

There it was. What would she say now? Should she tell him the truth or invent something?

"Uh, well... Mama... pneumonia... it kind of... killed her," she turned her head to look away. No matter how many years had passed, no matter how hard she tried to forget, thinking about her mother's death always made her sad.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to intrude," Christian replied quietly.

"It's not your fault. I should really learn to be less sensitive about Mama," Satine gave him a weak smile.

He was surprised at her honesty and decided to lighten up the atmosphere, "Well, if it makes you feel any better my mum's dead too."

Satine looked at him in surprise. He had not said it lightly or jokingly, but still he managed to deliver the line with a touch of humor.

"What happened?"

"She was in a car crash, when I was 16."

There was a pause and then Satine said, "At least that's one thing we have in common – dead mothers."

It was not meant to be funny, nor was it funny, but the whole situation _was_ quite funny and Satine and Christian burst out laughing. Tears ran down their cheeks as their laughter echoed off the cave walls.


	8. Who's That Girl?

A/N: "Who's That Girl" is a wonderfully light Madonna song from a movie she starred in called [drumroll: you guessed it, "Who's That Girl"!!

Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm getting more inspired, yay!! And since I have finally written the big K-I-S-S and I am extremely happy with it, I am treating you to another chapter. I promise more fluff once we get through the family drama.

* * *

Chapter 8

**Who's That Girl?**

As their laughter died down, Christian said, "Okay, I think we've been very disrespectful to our mums and I think we should both say a prayer."

"I agree," Satine replied. He was right, and it was a relief to finally be getting along with Christian so she agreed.

"I'll go first," she said, as she closed her eyes and began praying, "Notre Père qui es aux cieux, que ton nom soit sanctifié, que ton règne vienne, que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujourd'hui notre pain de ce jour. Pardonne-nous nos offenses comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés. Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation, Mais délivre-nous du mal."

Christian watched in disbelief as Satine solemnly recited "Our Father" in perfect French.

All Christian could say was, "Wow!"

"What?" Satine asked, surprised; she was already thinking he was starting to tease her again.

"You're really French?"

"Half-French, my dad was American."

"Was?"

"Yeah, he was an army pilot and was killed in the line of duty when I was four. I have only one memory of him."

Satine stopped for a moment. She didn't know if she should continue telling her life story, she had just met him yesterday. But there was something comforting in talking to Christian. It seemed like he was genuinely interested in her and her life. Satine decided to go for it.

"I remember him taking me out for a walk one afternoon and we went to the playground. He put me on a swing and told me to hold tight. I remember gripping the swing so hard that the skin on my hands hurt. He pushed the swing from behind me as I squealed with laughter. I loved it. Mama would never push me that high. I kept yelling, 'Higher, Daddy, higher!' And he pushed me higher and higher and I felt like I was flying."

Satine smiled as she remembered the happiness and exhilaration she had felt when flying with her father. It was her most cherished memory.

"So where were you born?"

"I was born on Hawaii but as Daddy was relocated every couple of months we moved with him. And when he died, Mama decided that we should move back to France, to Paris, her hometown. And so we did. We got Daddy's retirement fund from the US each month and Mama got a job as a nightclub waitress. She had never finished high school, her family was poor and she had to start working early on, so there were not many jobs she was qualified for. But things were looking up... until Mama caught pneumonia. It progressed very rapidly because Mama refused to go to the hospital at the beginning, saying it was nothing. In less than a month of the diagnosis she died at home in bed. I had stopped attending school that month in order to nurse her. She refused to get a real nurse saying we could not afford it and that Daddy's money was mine, for university, and that she was going to die anyway, with or without a nurse. I was eight. The neighbor's helped out with the funeral arrangements and I was contacted by my Mama's lawyer. Mama had set up a trust fund for me where all of Daddy's monthly payments had been stored since she had gotten a job. That's why we had been living in such bad conditions. That's why she got sick, because she would not pay for a doctor. The trust fund could only be accessed by me when I turned eighteen, that's when the monthly payments would stop arriving, as I would be of age. The lawyer instructed me that the money would be enough to pay for a good college in the US. And that's what Mama had wanted, for me to get an education, a good education. In her will, Mama had also left money so that I could be sent off to America to my grandparents who I had never met. But when the lawyer tried to contact them it turned out they were dead. No other relatives could be found, neither in America nor in France. Personally, I don't think the lawyer tried hard enough. Anyway, he still sat me on a plane to the States where I was handed over to the Department of Children and Families seeing as I was an American citizen. I spent my teenage years between foster families and at seventeen I finally found a job at Harry's and got emancipated. My trust fund paid for UCLA, and I worked for my living expenses. After university I continued working for Harry, until today. And that's it..."

"Wow! That's quite a story. And I only asked where you were born!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bore you..." Satine looked down at her hands in her cross-legged lap. She felt disappointed and angry at Christian. Here she was, pouring out her whole life to a complete stranger and he was practically laughing at her.

Christian wanted to bite his tongue.

"Satine..." he scooted up next to her and gently put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I was only messing with you. I'm just really stupid, okay?!"

Satine looked up. He seemed sincere.

"How's a mango as a peace offering?" and he held up a piece of mango before her mouth.

She smiled, "Okay, but under one condition."

"You name it!"

"You tell me your life story."

Christian pretended to think about it seriously. But when he noticed Satine tense up again, he smiled, "I'm messing, I'm messing, no _problemo_," as he emphasized the last 'o'.

"Good, now give me that mango!" Satine exclaimed, trying to take the mango from his hand, but he moved it out of her reach.

"Open your mouth."

"Hey! I'm the one who's calling the shots here, remember?"

Christian gave her a stern look.

"You look so funny!" and Satine started laughing.

"I'm sorry then, you do not get the mango."

"Hey! It was a peace offering."

"Well, peace is no more!" he replied teasingly.

"Then you get no more food!"

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"I was the one who brought it anyway," Satine replied equally as childishly and scooped up the two oranges and one mango that were left.

"Oh, no you do not!" Christian squealed and tickled Satine on her sides.

Satine started giggling and tickled Christian in return. They continued to tumble over and tickle each other on the cave floor as all else was forgotten.

* * *


	9. Family Portrait

A/N: Since I finished the post-kiss chapter I thought you deserved another chapter :) This chapter includes a little surprise which I thought you would enjoy, although it is NOT the kiss.

"Family Portrait" – fabulous song by Pink!!

* * *

Chapter 9

**Family Portrait**

"So what's the next bullet on our agenda?" asked Satine, sprawled on the cave floor observing the ceiling with Christian sprawled next to her.

"I don't know, I would just like a few minutes to catch my breath, dear."

Satine laughed, he was teasing her again.

"Where do you get so much energy from?" he asked.

She shrugged off the compliment with, "Dunno, guess I slept well."

"Is it me or is it just impossible to compliment you?"

"It's you," Satine smiled, blushing slightly, "So, what's the next step on our stuck-on-a-deserted-island scenario?"

"Whoa! Slow down. I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

"No wonder you guys never get anything done!"

"Who's being sexist now?"

"Okay, fine. Step one: shelter. Check! Step two: food. Check! Step three?"

"Have fun?" Christian slowly inquired, overemphasizing his hesitation.

Satine kicked him gently, smiling.

"Okay, well, we've seen that it gets cold at night. We should find some wood to have a fire this evening."

"Okay then, let's get to it!" Satine jumped to her feet.

"Hold on, Satine," said Christian sitting up, "it rained last night, what are the chances of finding dry wood today?"

"Non-existent, I guess, but shouldn't we at least try?"

"Well, since you're so enthusiastic..."

Christian got to his feet and the pair emerged from the cave. It was still morning but by now the sun was high up above them.

"It must be almost noon."

"Left or right?" Satine asked focused on their mission.

Christian was quite pleased that Satine seemed to be getting into adventure-mode and hoped that her good mood would last. The more he got to know her the more he realized how wonderful she was.

"Right. We came from the left yesterday."

"Very logical," Satine replied, as they headed right through the plant life once again, but the pair's relaxed walking speed allowed them to evade getting cut by the wilderness. Satine, however, was very excited and practically ran.

The trees were still damp from the night rain, just as Christian had predicted – even the thinnest branches. But the duo kept going.

"So anyway, you never kept your end of the bargain," Satine said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you agreed you would tell me your life story."

"Ahhh! Well... Not that much to tell. I'm Scottish, born and raised. My father walked out on Mum and me when I was two. She remarried later on when I was ten and had two more sons with my stepdad. When I was sixteen she was killed in a car accident. My stepdad wanted me to continue my education, I wanted to get a real job and move out. He ended up getting me a part-time job and a cheap apartment but I had to continue going to school. So I did. He's really a cool guy, my stepdad. Then in high school I got into photography and he was the one who encouraged me to choose a profession I would enjoy, he even convinced me to go to university and study photography for real. I know he's not my real dad, but he acts like one and then it feels like he is. You know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean," Satine had a similar relationship with Harry, "He seems like a really good person. You've been very lucky, you realize that?"

"Tell me about it! I couldn't believe how generous he was with me after Mum died. Not that I ever thought he was a bad man, but he did have two sons without a mother without having to worry about another one that is not even his own."

"It was time life gave you a break. Are you still in touch with him and your brothers?"

"Of course! After all he did for me! And my brothers… they're forever getting into trouble and always ask for my advice. We kind of all stuck together after Mum died, the four of us, I mean. My stepdad didn't remarry, not yet anyway. I live across the street from them and drive my brothers to school when I'm home."

"That's must be really nice... having a family."

"Pretty much," Christian smiled.

The pair was silent for a while as they continued to make their way through the trees. They still had no luck finding dry wood.

The trees became less frequent and the bushes became lower, as Satine and Christian reached the beach.

Satine looked to her left where she detected Christian's boat far away. It too would be wet and of no use for the fire. There was not much more they could do.

"So what now?" asked Satine.

"You tell me."

"You're the boy scout, oh wait, do they have them in Scotland?"

"Maybe, but sorry to disappoint you, I wasn't one of them."

"Oh well, we might at least have a swim while we're here, it's hot," Satine said as she walked towards the sea while unbuttoning her shirt.

Christian was momentarily caught off guard by her relaxed attitude, but she was right. It was awfully hot and a swim would do them both good.

Satine only wore a bra under her shirt and as she slipped out of her shorts, he realized that her knickers matched the bra. Very Satine-ish. He proceeded to observe her figure. She was completely and utterly beautiful! Her long legs seemed to go on forever and her hair cascaded down her back, almost to her waist.

Then, to Christian's shock, Satine undid the back of her bra, took it off, and nonchalantly dropped the undergarment onto the sand. Satine then proceeded to take off her panties. Christian could not help but stare. And stare. Although his viewpoint was limited, his exciting panorama included Satine's back and posterior, with silhouetted glimpses of her breasts. Satine was very beautiful. She was also very unpredictable.

Satine glanced momentarily back at Christian and at noticing his intense facial expression she explained casually, "What? I'm European."

"So am I!"

"We'll see about that," Satine countered naughtily.

Christian remained quiet; the embarrassment of having been caught staring slowly crept up his cheeks. He sheepishly looked down at his feet.

Satine almost felt sorry for him, but she enjoyed having the upper hand.

"You're the one that's so into nature. Nudity is natural, remember?" Satine teased.

When Christian finally dared to look up, Satine was heading for the water, gliding into the ocean like a siren from a fairytale.

Christian was still mesmerized when a few moments later Satine, now already far from the shoreline, yelled from the water, "It might be a smart idea for you to keep your clothes dry as well."

"Sounds like a plan," Christian yelled back as his disbelief subsided. He told himself to stop behaving like an idiot and to play it cool. Nudity was not a big deal to Christian. Satine's beauty, however, was.

Christian proceeded to take of _all_ of his clothes and leapt into the ocean. He swam until he caught up with her.

"The water is perfect, isn't it?" Satine asked.

"It feels fantastic. This was a very good idea."

"Why, thank you, Christian."

"Anytime, my dear," he smiled.

Satine smiled back.

"I'm going to relax a little now. And for the record, my darling Christian, I am not your dear," Satine said, flawlessly delivering her tongue-in-cheek response.

Appreciating her good mood, Christian did not reply and the pair enjoyed each other's company in silence as their bodies enjoyed the refreshing feel of the cool water on their skin.

As much as Satine pretended not to like being called 'dear' or 'honey', deep down she enjoyed the feeling of camaraderie between Christian and herself. It made her think back to her high school days; there were always girls who had that sort of relationship with their male friends. Satine had observed early on that the flirtation channel was always open in opposite-sex friendships. Although she tried desperately to fit in with all the other girls at school, boys would never react to her the same way. Rather than tease her good-naturedly, boys seemed to ignore her, or rather just look at her but never talk to her. It often made Satine feel left out and it manifested in her defensive attitude in all her interactions with men. Yet now, as a result of her odd relationship with this stranger, she had finally obtained the long sought-after membership card. Without even trying.

Satine realized she felt good around Christian. She liked that feeling. She liked it a lot.

* * *


	10. On Eagles' Wings

A/N: I am finishing up this story so you should be getting the next few chapters quickly. Thought you would enjoy having the ending chapters in succession. The story is to have 15 chapters, as of now :p Hope you enjoy, and if you've never reviewed, please do so now ;) Ta-ta.

"On Eagles' Wings" is a beautiful song which in my head is sung by Josh Groban. In your head it might be sung by someone else :)

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Chapter 10

**On Eagles' Wings**

Still in the water, Satine lay on her back, her muscles relaxing for the first time that day. She loved the feeling of floating on the ocean's surface. Although scientifically untrue, when afloat, Satine felt as if she were breaking away from gravity. Only in such instances was she able to put her overanalyzing thoughts aside, clear her head, and relax. Oblivious to its benefit to her mental health, Satine indulged herself in this 'unproductive' pleasure far too infrequently.

To Satine floating on water also meant that her current geographical location lost all importance; when afloat, all she could see are the clouds high above in the sky. Like swings, floating reminded her of her father. That's how he must have felt when he was flying – just him and the clouds in the big blue sky.

Satine especially enjoyed being immersed in a body of saline water; saltwater engaged all of her senses. The deep blue color of the ocean conveniently concealed the abundant sealife below the water's surface. The sound of the sea – of waves crashing against the shoreline, communicated to Satine that the sea had a spirit of its own. The strong salty scent enticed her, making her envious of the discreet world hidden in the mysterious oceanic depths, a world she could never fully understand. As her tongue met her pruny salty lips for the first time since entering the water Satine experienced an abrupt jolting effect – to the extent of being painful, one comparable to electric static; it made Satine feel alive.

Satine was able to drown all of her fears, trials, and uncertainties into saltwater. The sea was also a place from which she could draw strength. It had been a worthy and loyal companion to Satine, unable to leave her by virtue of its existence. This comforted her. In the presence of saline water Satine felt utterly at home; she was an island child after all. As many perils as the seas and oceans were infamous for, such as the cause of her recent shipwreck, these bodies of water were responsible for just as many joys, none of which Satine would ever relinquish.

In the meanwhile, Christian had followed Satine's lead and lay floating on the water's surface, observing the clouds. He enjoyed discovering new shapes and forms in them; it made him feel closer to nature.

During his cloud-watching Christian noticed that, although silently, every once in a while Satine broke her floating position to look towards the shore, as if to make sure that it was still there.

"Even when you're supposed to be relaxing, you're worrying."

It was not mean to sound as an accusation but, in spite of Christian's intentions, it did.

Satine was surprised by his sudden question, somewhat embarrassed at being so transparent, and automatically defensive at this unexpected allegation.

"Well, I don't want to drift off into the open sea, okay?!" Satine responded with an accusatory tone which left Christian unperturbed.

"How about if we hold hands? That way even if we drift away from the beach, we'll still have each other."

After realizing what he had said, Christian chuckled, "That was not supposed to sound so romantic."

"So it was supposed to sound just a _little_ romantic?" Satine teased.

Christian played along, replying, "Well, a beautiful deserted island, two stubborn people of the opposite sex, exotic fruit, and not much clothes… hmm… Seems to me like the perfect formula for romance."

His own remark sounded to Christian like something one of his mates would use as a pick-up line, but the words had just tumbled out of his mouth, and the statement _was_ sort of true.

Satine, against her better judgment, decided to continue the little charade, "Sorry to burst your bubble, mister, but you did not take into account the possibility of one of us being gay."

"You're gay?" Christian spat, turning his head abruptly to look at Satine and losing his floating position in the process. He felt as if someone had just punched him in the stomach.

"I never said that," Satine replied calmly, secretly enjoying Christian's evident discomfort.

"Then what was that comment all about?"

"You can ruffle my feathers, but I can't ruffle yours?"

"Oh," was all Christian said. But to clarify the situation, he asked, "So you're not gay?"

"No, I'm bisexual."

"Oh."

Christian was too confused for words.

Upon hearing the distress in his voice Satine took pity on him, "I'm joking."

Christian gave a sigh of relief, as Satine unnecessarily continued, "A workaholic heterosexual female, 24, who enjoys reading and swimming, is looking for a heterosexual male in his twenties, who is ready for a steady relationship."

Christian did not quite understand what was going on, and who in the world this woman was; she was different from yesterday's Satine. He just could not figure her out.

Satine had been a little more open than she had wanted to be, or had ever been, for that matter. It made her feel somewhat vulnerable, but it was also very liberating to say the first thing that popped into her mind. The fact that she didn't have to look at him when she talked made it all the easier. Satine did, however, notice that Christian was utterly confused, so she, as much for his sake, as her own, changed the subject, "So you're a photographer?"

"Yes," Christian replied, letting a silent sigh of relief escape his body, as he returned to floating position.

"Freelance?"

"No, although I do stuff on my own sometimes. Most of the time I work for National Geographic."

"Really? That's like _wow_!"

"Yeah, I really like my job."

"Well, in my opinion, National Geographic could not have hired a better person for that job. It's just so... you!"

"Thanks," Christian smiled, feeling a little uncomfortable with all the compliments.

"How long have you been with them?"

"Well, I worked as an intern for them during my college years, and when I graduated they offered me a steady contract. Apart from it being National Geographic, the contract also provided a flexible time schedule so that I could spend time with my brothers, so that has been great."

"Your job brought you to Polynesia?"

"Yes, I was on my way to a nearby _inhabited_ island to photograph an indigenous tribe in danger of extinction, when I got stuck here."

"So your camera is gone?"

"At the bottom of the ocean... or in a shark's belly," Christian said with humor.

"Oh, what a shame," Satine lamented.

"It's only a camera. I'm quite glad I'm not the one in the shark's belly."

Satine laughed, and more out of habit, than worry, checked for the shore. The fleeting glance, however, was not lost on Christian.

"Now that the Spanish Inquisition is over, it's time to relax."

"I guess so," Satine answered doubtfully.

"Here, take my hand," Christian said as he stretched his arm out towards Satine.

After hesitating for a moment Satine took his hand silently, hoping he would not make a big deal out of it. Fortunately for Satine, Christian didn't.

"Close your eyes," he said softly.

"Why?" Satine responded quickly. It was an automatic reaction brought on by her inability to relinquish control.

"Just trust me," Christian replied calmly.

Satine liked the sound of that more than she would dare to admit. She slowly closed her eyes.

A gentle breeze brushed over the pair's naked bodies, as they both lay floating on the water's surface, taking the sun in. It felt like flying on eagles' wings.

* * *


	11. UnDressed For Success

A/N: For the record, this chapter was extremely hard to write because I wanted to make it believable. Let me know if I succeeded. This was supposed to be two paragraphs and it evolved into a filler chapter, but I think it was worthwhile to get the cute chapter ending + it's finally Satine's turn to ogle!

Since after this chapter you will have seen both Satine and Christian naked, I think I deserve a review, so all you reading-but-not-reviewing lurkers out there, review! You know who you are :p

Anyway, "Dressed For Success" is a absolutely fabulous Roxette song.

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Chapter 11

**(Un)Dressed For Success**

"Oh, I'm all pruny," Satine stated matter-of-factly, feeling her pruny lips with her tongue.

She and Christian had been in the water for what felt over an hour.

"Well then, I guess it's time to get outta here!" Christian exclaimed with an overly American accent.

"Well then, whatcha waitin' for?" Satine replied with an equally overemphasized Southern accent.

"Ladies first, my southern belle," Christian grinned.

"Why, I wouldn't dream of it, sir," Satine countered with a charming Southern voice, before she went into cool Satine mode, saying, "You had the chance to check me out, now it's my turn."

Christian's face gave away his surprise at her audacious statement.

Satine continued their now-silent conversation with a mischievous grin, much like the one he had given her seconds earlier.

Inside, however, Satine could hardly believe what she was saying; words rolled off her tongue like water off a duck's back. It felt like she had been flirtatious and cheeky all her life. Actually she had been, just not out loud.

Christian was feeling slightly self-conscious. Not because he was worried about his physique, but because he really wanted to make a good impression on Satine. To do that he was going to have to strut out of the water like a sex god.

Christian decided to tap into _cool Christian_, the part of him which friends often tried, with infrequent success, to bring out in him. "That's how you get women to notice you," they would say. Christian did not want women to notice him because he was being "cool", but he figured desperate times called for desperate measures. Satine was putting on the cool act, so he might as well reciprocate.

Christian swam towards the shore with Satine in tow.

As he felt sand under his feet, Christian stopped swimming and began to walk towards the shore. The sea's density slowed his movements, making Christian's _cool _swagger difficult to pull off. He, therefore, tensed the muscles in his arms and legs to more easily cut through the water. He squared his shoulders imitating the _cool_ guys in _Baywatch_. If he was really going to strut out of the sea like sex god he had to give it his all.

As Christian's form emerged from the sea, a pair of broad shoulders walked into Satine's panoramic view of the deserted island. The sea level slowly dropped down the Scottish man's upper back, revealing more of Christian with his every step. His lean muscular back and toned biceps led Satine to imagine Christian turning around to reveal a strong chest and flat abdomen. 'Quite the poster boy for virility,' she thought naughtily to herself.

In real time however, Satine was still trailing behind Christian unhurriedly, enjoying the vista of his pleasant dorsum.

As Christian reached the shallow area, his derriere began to show.

And what a mighty derriere it was. "Mmm," was Satine's sole thought. She was clearly impressed. Not that she would ever admit it.

Satine caught herself staring and quickly snapped out of it. She could still observe his toned glutes, she rationalized to herself as her feet touched the sea floor – she just shouldn't stare.

Christian's derriere was well-formed. It was firm, yet, like the rest of his body, it wasn't that of a bodybuilder. It was the perfect balance between fat and muscle. It was the kind of derriere you get by doing aerobics or rollerblading. Satine smiled at a mental picture of Christian taking an aerobics class. 'More likely that Christian does mountain climbing or some other nature sport,' thought Satine condescendingly.

Overall, Christian's body frame conveyed his active lifestyle; he did not spend his days lounging on the couch but he also did not spend every waking hour at the gym. Christian's golden mean made him look healthy, as if he were enjoying life, and _that_ made him all the more attractive.

Focusing back to his derriere, she noticed it was somewhat lighter in color than the rest of his skin, but still tanned enough for Satine to know that Christian was either a regular visitor of a tanning salon, which she doubted, or he was no stranger to skinny dipping. Or rather skinny sunbathing.

By now Christian was out of the water's reach, wondering what Satine was thinking. He wished he could turn around to see if she was still looking at him, but _cool Christian _insisted that if he did so, his entire performance would have been in vain. Christian couldn't risk letting Satine "win", again. Although he was not ashamed of his boy-next-door personality, _cool Christian_ was also a part of him and he wanted Satine to know it.

Still wet, Christian decided to dry off before getting dressed. Concentrating his eyes on the sand below his feet, he sat down next to his clothes and bent his knees, conveniently concealing the most private part of his anatomy. Christian's head was turned to the left, his eyes intently focusing on something in the distance.

Satine was almost out of the water, the sea losing its hold on her beautiful calves. She detected her clothes a meter away from Christian's right, noticing that he was still undressed.

Although he was staring in the opposite direction, Christian did not react to her presence which Satine found odd. She sat down an arm's length away from him, waiting to dry off. To keep the sand off her wet figure, Satine's back leaned forward, placing the lower parts of her arms onto her slightly bent knees. If he had looked, Christian could have once again observed the shape of Satine's breast, which peeked out from under her long wet reddish hair. But Christian did not look.

"So..." Satine said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence, yet continuing to look straight ahead.

"So, what?" Christian asked lively, although he still did not look at Satine.

"So, we had a nice swim."

"So it seems," Christian replied in a teasing tone.

"Oh, stop it, Christian! Here I am trying to have a decent conversation and you make fun of me!" Satine exclaimed, although not genuinely annoyed.

"What kind of a decent conversation do you believe can develop from a 'so'?"

Purposely, the pair still never looked at each other directly and the lack of facial expressions made their little spat all the more exasperating.

"You are just impossible!"

"Impossible for you, perhaps," Christian mocked Satine, "Is the all-mighty Satine finally admitting defeat?"

"Hardly. It would take a lot more for you to _defeat_ me, let alone have me _admit_ defeat," Satine countered, quite enjoying their little argument.

"Actually, that was a very good choice of words, Satine," Christian said, tilting his head to one side.

"Trying to get out of another argument by complimenting me? You should know by now that it doesn't work."

"Your loss, then," Christian replied simply, shrugging his shoulders, although Satine could not see the gesture.

Realizing that she had once again twisted Christian's good-intentioned words, making them sound self-serving, and that perhaps her tone of voice had not conveyed her sarcasm accurately, Satine did not respond.

Christian was not in the least bit offended but thought it best to move on, "I love seawater."

"So do I!" Satine replied energetically, looking at the deep blue ocean with longing.

Christian loved how the two of them could 'recover' from an awkward moment in two quick sentences.

Satine went on, "Usually when I'm at the beach, my favorite moment is after I get out of the sea and I drink some water and then-"

Christian interrupted her eagerly, "It's because the water tastes sweet in your mouth after the saltiness of the ocean."

"Exactly!" Satine's eyes twinkled as she turned to look at Christian.

Christian was smiling as his eyes met Satine's briefly, before they both resumed their horizon-watching.

Christian realized that he was dry by now and sorted out his clothes to get dressed.

Out of the corner of her eye Satine noticed that Christian was getting dressed so she followed suit.

Dressed for success, Christian played in the sand, waiting for Satine to put on her clothing.

Satine was genuinely comfortable with her own nudity around other people and she particularly enjoyed nudist beaches. She, however, did not like how many people in the US equated nudity to sex; if a woman felt comfortable in the nude she was automatically a whore. Satine felt at ease around Christian and whether he saw her full frontal or not made little difference to her. His continuous yet subtle effort in the past fifteen minutes to not see her naked was therefore, unnecessary. Still, Satine thought, it was nice.

"Okay, you can look now," Satine said to Christian in an ordinary tone.

"Oh, I wasn't--" Christian attempted denial as he was finally able to look at her.

Satine, however, interrupted Christian, feigning irritation, "Yeah yeah, we both know that deep down you're a gentleman through and through!"

To make sure he knew she meant it in a good way, Satine winked.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't argue with that," Christian said as he smiled, thinking to himself that Satine was indeed a lady, when it mattered the most.

* * *


	12. Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

A/N: "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is a fantastic Shania Twain song.

Thanks to Trinity 7271 for reviewing :p and as always to fbi-woman :)  
ihearttheo.c - you still owe me a review for the previous chap ;)

Chapter 11 got 14 hits as of the time of the posting of this new chapter but I only got 2 reviews for it. Naughty naughty readers! Do you need me to spank you?! ;)

Enjoy.

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Chapter 12

**Man! I Feel Like a Woman! **

After locating some coconuts and quenching their salty thirst, Satine and Christian were by each others' side once again, walking along the seashore. The air was comfortably warm as the sun began its slow descent.

"So, what's next, boy scout?" Satine asked Christian.

"Well, we know where to find food and drink and we have shelter. It seems as if we have covered everything on our agenda," Christian replied.

"What about wood for a fire?" Satine asked persistently.

"It doesn't look like it will rain tonight," Christian said looking up at the now cloudless sky, "and the wood on the island is still damp, so I think we should put that off until tomorrow."

Satine absorbed Christian's explanations and nodded in understanding.

"So there is nothing to do but wait," Christian said.

"Wait for what?" Satine asked, confused.

"Wait to be rescued."

"Oh," was all Satine had to say.

It was unlike Satine to have nothing to do. Even worse, she had not even planned that she would have nothing to do. Satine hated when the world interfered with her plans. She had custom-designed her holiday during her flight and she had even let herself become excited about the trip; after all, catered holidays were her area of expertise and if anybody was able to design a dream vacation for Satine, it would be Satine. She had intended to spend two weeks getting to know the indigenous Polynesian cultures and anthropologically immerse herself into another civilization. Now she found herself on a deserted island, isolated from _any_ kind of civilization.

"It's quite a beautiful island, isn't it?" Christian asked rhetorically, oblivious to Satine's inner monologue.

For the first time Satine took time to studied her surroundings. Satine looked to her left noticing an irregular row of palm trees embracing the sandy clearing, where she stood, as her gaze traced its way over her bare toes, wriggling the yellowish particles from in between them. Satine observed elegant ocean waves methodically conceal and reveal the long stripe of the golden seashore. Lifting her eyes, she was mesmerized by the view of the great sun approaching the horizon, as it scattered reddish blotches across the afternoon sky.

The island _was_ beautiful.

This was exactly the type of place Satine would have liked to spend a planned vacation. _Planned_ being the key word.

Satine liked surprises, little ones. This was a scary surprise. After all, Christian could have been an axe-murderer.

'That's all water under the bridge now', Satine concluded privately. 'I'm on vacation and I might as well have some fun!'

The word 'fun' triggered a lightbulb in Satine's mind and she burst out singing, "_The best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun_," as she echoed '_fun_' a couple of more times, just like in the song.

Satine felt so energized; it felt good to sing – she loved singing.

Suddenly oblivious to Christian's presence, Satine's walking pace turned into a semi-skip as she continued singing the chorus, acting out Shania Twain's moves from the video.

"_Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy – forget I'm a lady_,"Satine sang, shrugging.

"_Men's shirts – short skirts_,"she tugged at the unbuttoned middles of her shirt and drew an imaginary line on her thigh where a miniskirt would end.

"_Oh, oh, oh_," Satine dramatically froze in her tracks for emphasis.

"_Really go wild – yeah, doin' it in style_," as she let her arms fly about.

"_Oh, oh, oh!_"

"_Get in the action – feel the attraction_"

"_Color my hair-do what I dare_," Satine swished her long hair vivaciously, jumping into a standstill in front of a baffled Christian for the "_Oh, oh, oh!_" part.

"_I wanna be free – yeah, feel the way I feel_,"Satine swirled in quick happy circles, then paused for a moment and looked into Christian's eyes before she finished off her little performance with a serious delivery of:

"_Man! I feel like a woman!_ "

With the end of the song Satine found herself panting; she enjoyed singing, especially when it left her out of breath. She broke the brief eye contact to focus on her breathing.

Singing this song had made her feel so uncharacteristically free and uninhibited but she didn't care. Yesterday, she could not have imagined doing a song and dance for anybody, yet now, in front of Christian, it seemed perfectly natural.

Christian was pleasantly surprised by Satine's outburst and he enjoyed watching her happy; she was even more beautiful when she was smiling.

Echoing his earlier thoughts and linking it to the song's lyrics Christian said, "The gentleman part of me has noticed that you can be quite a lady… when you remember," and he winked.

Satine caught his witty word game and smiled, impulsively responding in song verse, "_Cause I'm your lady_…"

Giving him an intent stare, Satine continued theatrically, "…_and you are my man._"

To her surprise, Christian chimed in on key, returning her gaze, "_Whenever you reach for me, I'll do all that I caaaaaaan_…"

Holding up pretend hand microphones consisting of two raw fists, the pair sang in unison maintaining eye contact, "_We're heading for something, somewhere I've never been…_"

With a mock sad face, Satine motioned overdramatically with her 'free' hand, "_Sometimes I am frightened…_"

"_But I'm ready to learn…_" adopting the overexaggerated attitude, Christian continued singing with a pleading face to Satine indicating that he would do anything to 'learn'.

The duo finished off the chorus together, "_Of the power of love…._" flailing their arms around, pretending to be opera singers.

"You listen to Celine Dion?" Satine asked disbelievingly, breathless once again.

"Yes. You have a problem with that?" Christian asked half-jokingly, half-serious.

"No! I was just asking," Satine replied, clearly annoyed.

"My mum loved Celine Dion. 'The Power of Love' was her favorite song," Christian stated simply, diffusing the charged atmosphere.

"Singing is a nice way to remember her," Satine said kindly.

"Yes it is," Christian smiled.

"Actually, Mama also enjoyed Celine's music. She would always play her songs to me when I was little, the ones in English, she made sure I heard a lot of English growing up. Mama preferred Celine's French albums."

"Well, it seems like our mums are our most common denominator," Christian said delicately.

"And I thought it was our wonderful personalities!" Satine responded sarcastically.

Christian exaggeratedly rolled his eyes.

"What about our unique musical talen?!" Satine continued in a teasing voice, not really expecting an answer.

After a short pause Christian said, "See, Satine, you have a freak flag. You just don't fly it."

"Hey! That's a line from a movie!" Satine boldly waved her index finger at him.

"So? That doesn't mean that it's not true!" Christian replied defiantly, staring her down.

"Oh, I hate you!" Satine teased, imitating an exasperated tone.

"What a surprise!" Christian replied sarcastically, as he began humming a tune, "How does that song go again…"

Satine jumped at the chance to sing again, "_Ooh, and it's alright an' it's coming on_…"

Finishing the first verse, her eyes gave Christian an expectant look, waiting for him to continue.

Taking on her little test, Christian took Satine by the hand and pulled her body to his in a swift dance move, catching her waist with his other hand. He sang, as he rocked their bodies to the music, "_We gotta get right back to where we started from…_"

Satine was caught by surprise by Christian's sudden motion but for a once she shut off the overanalytical part of her brain – she was having too much fun.

"_Love is good, love can be strong_," they sang, as Satine's voice blended with Christian's, "_We gotta get right back to where we started from_…"

The pair hummed the rest of the Maxine Nightingale song as their bodies leisurely swayed to the rhythm. With his arms around her waist, Satine lowered her head onto Christian's shoulder, enjoying the warmth of his body against her own. Christian, too, appreciated the close proximity of their bodies as the omnipresent warm breeze blew from the open sea.

"You're quite a decent guy, Christian," Satine said softly, reluctantly breaking the serenity of the moment.

When he didn't respond or provide any acknowledgment of her declaration, she lifted her head up to look at him.

Christian gave her a smile and said, "You're quite a nice girl, Satine."

Then she kissed him.

Satine had leaned in slowly, pausing slightly as their noses touched to make sure he knew what was about to happen. Like she had hoped, he didn't flinch.

Her lips gently touched his, unsure at first. His lips welcomed the contact and reciprocated.

Their tender motions increased in speed, becoming more passionate. Satine sucked his lower lip teasingly, as Christian ran his fingers through her fiery-colored hair. She allowed his tongue to explore her mouth as her hands explored the well-formed derriere she had previously admired.

They kissed.

And kissed.

Without conscious effort, their bodies switched to a more comfortable horizontal position on the sandy ground, as their lips, tongues, and mouths intermingled.

"I feel just like Deborah Kerr in "From Here To Eternity", Satine said smiling, pausing briefly before adding, "Except for the whole war thing".

Christian smiled back, "Good. Because I feel just like Burt Lancaster. Except for the whole war thing."

The two castaways were lost in a series of rolls and tumbles along the beach, kissing, laughing, and gasping for breath, as waves splashed over their bare ankles and calves.

As the camera zoomed out from the close-up of Satine and Christian, the pair made out on the beach just like Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster in "From Here to Eternity". Except for the whole war thing.

* * *


	13. Moonlighting Strangers

A/N: Not wanting to give anything away at the beginning of the previous chapter these are the 'credits' for it:

"Man! I Feel Like a Woman" is a Shania Twain song.  
"The Power of Love" is a Celine Dion song.  
"Get Right Back Where We Started From" is a Maxine Nightingale song.

Also, the end of previous chapter was an amateur homage to "She's All That" and "From Here To Eternity".

Now, this chapter took almost as long to write as the previous one, but I'm very happy with it. Some of my absolute favorite lines from this story are in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy them, and make sure to let me know which lines are **your** favorites!

If you thought last chapter was fluffy, get ready for some serious fluff!!

* * *

Chapter 13

**Moonlighting (Strangers Who Just Met On the Way)**

Still scantily yet fully clothed, Satine and Christian were tangled up in each other, intensively exchanging saliva, too busy to notice that the great ball of fire in the sky was now barely peeking from behind the horizon in the shape of a small semicircle.

"Mmm... this is nice," Satine spoke first, breaking the physical contact between their faces.

"Mmm... very very nice…" Christian replied as he inched his face closer to Satine's to kiss her again.

Satine subtly moved her face out of the reach of Christian's lips.

"What do you think you're doing?" Christian asked teasingly.

"My lips hurt," Satine said, pouting. Her lips were worn out; the delicate skin felt chapped, even though it wasn't. She wished she had her Labello with her.

"That just means you haven't been exercising them regularly," Christian said playfully, anticipating more kisses.

As insulting as Satine found his remark was, Satine was infuriated by Christian's expectance of another intense kissing session, "What do you think I am? A make-out maniac?! I think you must have me confused… with yourself! Let me breathe!"

Christian was surprised by Satine's outburst, especially since he thought that she was having as good a time as he was – she had said so herself. He pulled his head back in retreat and remained quiet. He considered untangling himself from Satine, but concluded that it required too many pushy movements, which she might misinterpret, so he remained put.

After a short silence, unbearable to Satine, she blurted out, "It's not that I don't find you attractive!"

Christian let out a little chuckle and raised his eyebrows at her revealing choice of words.

"I mean, I don't think you're ugly… or anything like that", Satine stuttered.

"Ouch!"

"Oh! Sorry, I mean, you _are_ attractive."

An overconfident smirk graced Christian's face.

"Uh-oh, I think I'll just keep my mouth shut," Satine said slightly embarrassed.

"Not when I kiss you again, I hope," Christian replied good-naturedly.

"Oh, you are just impossible, Christian!"

"Hooray for me!"

There was a brief pause. This time Satine considered entangling herself and wished there was a door she could slam right into Christian's face.

"Sometimes you remind me so much of Maddie Hayes!" Christian said.

"It must be my ethereal beauty," Satine stated in mock vain.

"That, of course!" Christian hastily confirmed, "but you also have a tendency of concluding that I am impossible," Christian said with a chuckle.

"Well, that's because you are! Too bad there are no doors for me to slam here."

"What if the next item of our agenda were to make some doors for you to slam?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Satine confirmed playfully, giving Christian a brief thank-you kiss on the lips, before giggling and adding, "You know, you could give David Addison a run for his money!"

"When it comes to chemistry comparisons, you can't get better than Moonlighting."

"You do know that at the end of the show David and Maddie didn't exactly end up together?"

"They did in fanfiction!" Christian argued.

"Only because their audience really wanted them to end up together."

"You don't think our readers want us to end up together?"

"Well, Moonlighting's viewers had five years of TV bonding with their favorite characters, and DVD's twenty years later. All we have is barely four months on and we're not exactly in the mainstream category."

"You're right, that's what the fine print says, but don't forget the big bold print: we had starring roles on the big screen, we were nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards, and we sing a bunch of songs on one of the best-selling soundtracks of all time. If knowing every single line of 'Elephant Love Medley', which I'm sure the people reading this know, is not bonding then I don't know what is."

"I guess it will just have to be up to the readers," Satine turns to look at the camera, "What do you guys think?" she asks with a wink.

"Anyway, just promise me you won't get pregnant with one guy, mess around with me, and then get married to a third guy!"

"If I remember correctly, the second guy was the only one that Maddie managed not to drive away."

"Again you with the fine print!" Christian brushed off Satine's counterargument.

"Well, I don't see any other guys here, do you?" Satine asked.

Christian shook his head.

"Then it's safe to say that if I were to get pregnant and married it could only be with and to you."

Satine smiled before adding, "Unless you count that hot hunky palm tree over there."

"Hot hunky palm tree, beware," Christian jokingly threatened the tree with a menacing look before he focused his eyes back on a suddenly thoughtful Satine.

"Speaking of pregnancy, you do know that making out and skinny dipping is as good as it's going to get," Satine said, and added for comic relief, "So not quite 'From Here To Eternity', is it?!"

"No it's not," a disappointed Christian said, "The rationalization being that since we're not facing imminent death from war we do not deserve the pleasure of having sex. Damn that writer!"

"You would think that being shipwrecked in the middle of nowhere without internet, TV, or cigarettes, in the 21st century, would carry the same weight as war did back in the forties."

"I think the writer just doesn't have what it takes to write an M-rated chapter worthy of our passionate lovemaking."

"Shhh!" Satine shushed Christian, "Don't go there! She has the power to make me refuse to kiss you. Do you really want that?"

"Stop giving her ideas! And why are you so sure that _you_ will be the one refusing to kiss _me_?"

"Because she's a girl, like me. So she will take my side."

"Oh, I hate it when you're right!" Christian exclaimed in mock frustration.

Satine patted Christian's arm, comforting him sarcastically, "There, there, Satine will make it all better," as she leaned in to give Christian a slow tender kiss.

Leaving him wanting more, Satine gently pulled out of the kiss.

"I do have a condom," Christian said optimistically.

Satine tilted her head, "Just one?"

"Yeah."

"Hopefully you will agree that we should save it for a more desperate occasion."

Satine gave Christian a wink and a luring smile before observing, "We _could_ be on this island for a while and 'The Blue Lagoon' hardly needs another sequel."

"I guess we'll just have to have really great make-out sessions then!"

Satine laughed at his joke before concluding, "Just play it by ear then."

"Sounds good to me," Christian replied cheerfully.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" demanded Satine, "I want a repeat of the kissing scene not the argument scene."

"Do your lips still hurt?" Christian asked raising his eyebrow.

"Nope."

"Do you have enough oxygen?"

"Yep."

"Then I will be more than happy to rewind and repeat, Maddie."

As Christian leaned in, Satine managed to say, "Why thank you, David," before she was lost in a world of tender and passionate kisses.

* * *


	14. All Good Things Come To An End

A/N: This is a filler chapter coz I didn't wanna end the previous chapter so cliché by having them get rescued just when things were starting to go well, but there are some cute moment in between which should make the chapter enjoyable. Story ends in chapter 15! Brace yourselves :p

All Good Things (Come To An End) is a lovely Nelly Furtado song even if the title is so cliché. Last chapter's title is a line from the Moonlighting theme song sung by Al Jarreau.

* * *

Chapter 14

**All Good Things (Come To An End)**

Asleep on the beach, wrapped in each others arms, the new lovers were greeted by a bright dawn.

"Good morning, mademoiselle Satine," Christian said softly.

"Mmm, monsieur Christian," Satine replied sleepily, "It _is_ quite a good morning."

Satine leaned in, her lips leisurely searching for Christian's.

Christian playfully let his lips evade hers.

"Christian," Satine warned in a threatening voice, her eyelids still covering her mesmerizing eyes.

To soothe her, Christian slowly trailed little kisses up Satine's neck and across her cheek before finally placing his lips gently onto hers.

"Mmm… that's better," Satine said, enjoying the innocent physical contact.

"I reckon, this is as good as it gets," Christian replied.

"What do you mean?" asked Satine, clearly curious, opening her eyes to look at Christian intently.

"Well," Christian paused momentarily to phrase his thoughts, "I'm stuck on a deserted island with the woman of my dreams, I am getting along wonderfully with same woman, the view is spectacular… What more can you ask for?" Christian concluded, motioning for her to look towards the horizon.

Satine turned her head and focused her eyes on the emerging sun.

"Wow! It _is_ spectacular." Satine exclaimed, admiring the panoramic view.

"And you," Satine continued, "and this," she glanced at her surroundings, "is all simply so wonderful."

Satine gave a happy sigh, smiling at Christian.

Christian smiled back, giving her a long tender kiss.

Satine felt happy. Being around Christian made her feel wonderful inside.

Satine felt relaxed. No clients to worry about, no plans to make, keep, or break.

Satine felt more than happy and more than relaxed.

For the first time in her life Satine felt content.

"What could be the name of this island?" Christian wondered out loud, interrupting Satine's thoughts.

"It reminds me of _La Isla Bonita_, the Madonna song," Satine replied, "I always imagined her to be singing about a deserted island for two."

Ending her sentence with a smile, Satine began to hum along to the first few verses of the song.

"_Bonita_ it is!" Christian declared.

"It truly _is _a beautiful island," added Satine.

The serenity of a moment was broken by a hungry growl from Christian's stomach.

"I hear someone is very hungry," Satine teased, patting Christian's abdomen lightly, "Must've done some serious exercise yesterday."

Christian narrowed his eyes at Satine scornfully, but then gave her a big smile when Satine's stomach echoed Christian's.

"I guess I'm not the only one who had an active workout," Christian winked.

"Reckon we should go find some food then."

"My stomach agrees," Christian replied.

Getting to her feet, Satine held out her hand for Christian to take, whose mighty derriere was still in ample contact with the sand.

Christian smirked at Satine's outstretched arm.

"What you grinning for?"

"At you."

"May I know why?" Satine asked contemptuously.

"I'm twice your weight and _you're_ giving _me_ a hand?" questioned Christian, exaggerating his disbelief.

"Try it and we'll see what happens," Satine dared Christian, feeling playful.

"Fine," huffed Christian.

"Fine," Satine echoed, waving her hand for him to take it.

Christian grabbed Satine's hand. Using the strength of his legs and Satine's pull Christian attempted to get up. Halfway through the completion of his goal, Satine purposely let go of his hand and Christian's mighty derriere found its way back on the sand.

"What did you do that for?" a stunned Christian asked loudly.

"That was for your grinning at my body mass," Satine declared proudly and stomped off.

Christian quickly got to his feet and ran after Satine.

"I didn't mean it that way… I mean, it wasn't in a bad way. You being half my weight should be a compliment, shouldn't it?!" Christian babbled on, as he grabbed Satine by her shoulder to slow her pace down.

Satine turned to look at Christian with a mischievous grin on her face, "So… I hear I am the woman of your dreams."

Upon realizing Satine had been pulling his leg, Christian exclaimed, "You are such a tease, mademoiselle Satine." He proceeded to wrap his arms around Satine's waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I learned from the best, monsieur Christian," Satine managed to reply before another inevitable make-out session transpired between the dynamic duo.

* * *

In between the kissing and the stomping and the pulling and the teasing, the pair had encountered mangoes, coconuts, and dry wood, all of which found a way back to the beach along with Satine and Christian.

Sitting by a burning fire with Satine to his right, Christian was once again admiring the seascape. Each time he found himself newly surprised by the view before his eyes, which was essentially the same, yet always different. If this view was all he ever saw every day for the rest of his life, it would be enough. If Satine's silhouette was discernible from the corner of his eye every day for the rest of his life, Christian would know eternal bliss.

Sitting next to Christian, Satine was thinking. With additional wood to her right and fruit leftovers cluttered around the fire, Satine wondered how long this amazing romantic adventure was going to last. How long _could_ it last?

"So, how long were you going to stay in Polynesia?" Satine inquired casually.

"Actually…" Christian thinks for a moment, "I believe that my plane leaves tonight. Reckon it's a goner, eh?!"

Satine smiled.

"Anyway, it's my brother's birthday in a month and I was going to surprise him with a cool birthday present from here… something native, like rain drums. He really likes native stuff."

"Guess the apples of you and your brother didn't fall far from each other."

Christian smiled at Satine's modification of the old saying and continued, "Actually, my mom was really into native art and mythology. Even though she never really got the opportunity to travel and experience the cultures she read so much about."

"So now you're overcompensating with all your crazy travels," Satine said lightheartedly but with kindness.

"I guess you could say that," Christian replied good-naturedly before asking, "So when is _your_ plane scheduled to get you outta here?"

"I just started my vacation so I've got about ten more days."

"Reckon we should be off the island by then."

"Reckon we should."

"Oh, I just had a great idea. I could always get by brother some of that macho tribal jewelry."

Satine laughed at the _macho_ part, "You're so funny sometimes!"

"Just sometimes?" Christian teased.

"You're doing it again," Satine said, feigning annoyance.

"Doing what?" Christian asked innocently.

"Being impossible."

"And you are calling me on it again," Christian pointed out.

He paused for a moment to make sure that the atmosphere was around Satine was indeed a playful one before boldly adding, "Maddie."

At the _Moonlighting_ reference, Satine decided to adopt Christian's little charade, exclaiming with mock desperation, "Oh, David," before flinging her arms around his neck like a damsel in distress.

Satine's dramatic performance amused Christian and he started laughing, with Satine joining in soon thereafter.

The pair's joviality was cut short upon hearing an unidentifiable sound from far away. They looked around themselves, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. It was not just random noise, it sounded like a beacon.

The sound was heard again.

"Look, Christian, over there," Satine exclaimed, pointing to the open sea.

In the distance Christian observed a large ship.

Without giving it much thought both Satine and Christian started waving their arms about and shouting for help.

After a few minutes the ship gave double honk, as if to signal that the pair had been seen. Once the ­­­boat­­­ altered course towards _Bonita_, Satine and Christian fell to the ground panting.

"I wonder how they found us," Satine said breathlessly.

"They must have noticed the fire. Good thing we finally made one."

'Yeah, good thing indeed', Satine thought to herself sarcastically. They weren't supposed to get rescued yet. Dammit! She had wanted at least a couple of more days alone on the island with Christian. Things were just starting to get interesting between them. Double dammit! 'You just love messing with my plans, don't you?!' she thought half-angrily half-resignedly, glancing at the clear blue sky.

'So what now?' Christian pondered mentally. He really liked Satine and found himself wondering how things could have worked out if they weren't being rescued right now. 'Will she be the same person in the real world?' He would find out soon enough.

Minutes later, as the vessel approached the island, a dinghy was sent to the shore.

Christian got to his feet.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Umm… Not really?" Satine replied hesitantly, yet the questioning tone of her made it sound humorous rather than melodramatic.

"Everything is going to be ok," Christian affirmed calmly, stretching his hand out for her. Although he could feel her hesitance, he did not know its reason. Christian dared to think that perhaps Satine was feeling the same way that he was, however, he could not bear to entertain that thought for too long, for fear that it might not be true. Realistically, Satine probably couldn't wait to get back to civilization.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Satine replied, taking Christian's hand.

Christian was caught off guard by Satine's answer; it was as if she had read his mind earlier. It made him feel better.

Christian smiled at Satine as the pair boarded the boat.

Satine smiled back weakly.

Both were soon lost in their own thoughts, unsure of what the future held for them as an 'us'.

* * *


	15. You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

A/N: We've come to the end of the road, folks. This is the final chapter and it's over double the word count of any of the other chapters so it's a little thank you to all of you who have stuck with the story. A big final thanks to fbi-woman and ilovetheo.c for their consistent reviewing, you guys kept me going :) If you have gotten this far into the story and have not reviewed I would really appreciate it if you did.

Don't think I will be doing a sequel, thanks for sticking it through, everyone, good night and good luck. Adios amigos.

'Umbrella' is the fabulous Rihanna song.

* * *

Chapter 15

**(You Can Stand Under My) Umbrella**

On the ship Satine and Christian were examined by a paramedic and given a clean bill of health with an emphasis on increased water consumption. Generic one-size-fits-all outfits were provided as the vessel reached the city. At the harbor Satine and Christian gave statements to the local authorities and once the shipwreck was ruled a no-fault accident, the pair was allowed to go.

Satine and Christian were escorted to a taxi stop, where a polite and helpful officer hailed them a single cab since they were staying in the same district.

In the back seat of the cab, Satine and Christian were unusually quiet, not quite knowing what to say. In between the Coast Guard personnel, the paramedics, and the police, the pair was alone for the first time since they had been rescued. It was also the first time that Satine and Christian had a moment to gather their thoughts individually.

Satine didn't know how she felt about the whole situation. Although she had enjoyed their time on the island and a part of her wished that they had not been rescued yet, all of that was water under the bridge. Satine was more concerned with the present and the future. Could she see herself in a serious relationship with Christian? Her bigger concern was whether a relationship with Christian was even possible, after all they lived half a world away from each other. Then she realized that even if she knew the answers to these questions for herself, she had no idea whether Christian was interested in pursuing their relationship, or whether he even wanted a steady relationship at all. Men his age usually had commitment issues. At times Satine hated the fact that women were from Venus and men were from Mars, and at such times Satine wished she liked girls – it would make _everything_ so much easier.

Christian was equally lost in his own thoughts. He really liked Satine but it didn't seem like she would be comfortable fitting into his lifestyle or vice versa. He also didn't believe in settling for second bests - it either was or it wasn't. Finding middle ground was a necessity in any relationship, that Christian knew, but he also felt that compromising was dangerous because it could turn into resentment. How do you reconcile the sun, the beach, and the traffic jams of L.A. with the clouds, green hills, and historic districts of Scotland? Besides, wasn't he supposed to catch a plane tonight?

At that point Satine didn't know much, but she did know two things: she was definitely confused. She also knew that her confusion was frustrating the hell out of her.

At the same point Christian didn't know much either, but he did know two things for sure: he was definitely confused. He also knew that his confusion would resolve itself eventually and that there was no point in worrying about things he couldn't change; after all, as much as he tried he couldn't order himself into or out of an emotion.

Having sorted out their thoughts, Satine and Christian became aware of the silence between them. The exchange of fleeting looks acknowledged the other's presence and the eye contact, however brief, added to the increasing awkwardness in the cab.

"A penny for your thoughts…" Christian inquired sociably.

"Oh, I was just thinking…"

"About?" Christian pried tactfully.

"About the rest of my vacation," Satine lied, "I still have ten days to spend around here."

Satine paused to give Christian a chance to say something but he remained quiet.

"Compared to our little island adventure, I can't help but think that the rest of my vacation will be quite dull," Satine said nostalgically, mentally nudging Christian to react and say something.

Christian gave Satine a warm smile, before replying playfully, "Nah. A pretty thing like you? You'll be drowning in fun and indecent proposals in no time."

Satine laughed; Christian's wit could always make her laugh. Deep inside, however, she was also annoyed with Christian's humor and lack of acknowledgment of the two of them as a… - whatever they were.

Then Satine had an idea.

She asked the driver to turn the radio on.

He ignored her.

Satine leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder, repeating enthusiastically, "Radio, radio," and pointing to the radio.

She first heard of the radio game on the teenage show One Tree Hill, her secret guilty pleasure. Although she had never played it herself, at this point in time and space the radio game felt right: her entire encounter with Christian had been a series of random events, so it seemed fitting to analyze it with another random occurrence. She hoped it would work.

In the meanwhile, Christian amused himself by observing the interaction unfolding before his eyes.

"Ahhhh, rah-dio", the cab driver responded with his own pronunciation of 'radio' and complied with Satine's request.

A clear female voice singing to an upbeat rhythm resonated through the taxi's old sound system.

_Said I'll always be a friend  
Took an oath I'ma stick it out till the end  
Now that it's raining more than ever  
Know that we'll still have each other  
__You can stand under my umbrella_

Satine smiled knowingly. Even though she wasn't a crazy Rihanna fan, Satine loved 'Umbrella'. Unfortunately, it didn't make any sense in Satine's desired context: it wasn't raining and she and Christian were far from proclaiming their undying commitment to each other. Satine perplexed mood reflected in her facial expression as she was once again at a loss of what to do or say.

"Are you ok?" Christian asked noticing her worry.

"Umm, yeah," Satine stammered, "I was just lost in thought. So what about you? What are you doing for the rest of your vacation?" she tactfully changed the subject.

"Actually, I'm supposed to leave tonight, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember now," Satine replied. Since she herself was only three days into her stay in Polynesia it had completely slipped her mind that Christian was leaving today. Had they still been on the island he wouldn't be leaving, Satine's mind concluded sadly.

"So…" Christian inquired in order to break the returning silence.

Frustrated by the awkwardness of the situation Satine nonchalantly changed the topic of the conversation yet again, "So, anyway, let me give you my email... so you can send me some of your photos. If you are interested, that is. I thought we could use them for our travel package ads."

"Yeah, sure, that sounds great," Christian replied warmly, yet surprised by Satine's indifference at their imminent farewell.

Satine asked the driver for something to write on and with. After another comical miscommunication with the cab driver, she obtained napkins and two pens. Satine and Christian both started writing down their contact information.

A minute later Satine's napkin included her email and her cell phone number. Ready to exchange the napkins, she said genially, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

Christian was still writing, but briefly looked up at Satine to smile at her.

Another minute later Christian was finished and they exchanged napkins, just as the car stopped moving. Christian and Satine both looked through their windows – it wasn't a traffic light or a traffic jam.

"Here, miss," the driver said with a thick accent turning to look at Satine.

"Parade today, barricades. No cars. You must walk. You go left here, and you pass two streets – your hotel there," he continued in his broken English.

"That's fine," Satine replied, smiling, "Thank you."

"Well, I better get going," Satine said to Christian, "I hope you have a good flight and that you figure out what to get your brother for his birthday."

Christian smiled at the fact that she remembered, "You take care of yourself. We'll be in touch."

"If you're ever in L.A…" Satine said, not needing to finish the well-known saying, yet hating it the minute she said it – it made the goodbye sound so casual when in fact she was having a hard time with it.

To Satine's surprise, Christian enthusiastically replied, "Definitely." Perhaps the saying was not as commonly used in Scotland as it was in the U.S.

The pair gave each other an awkward hug before Satine stepped out of the vehicle, closing the car door without a second glance. She gave the passengers of the car a quick wave before heading for the crosswalk. Wistfully, Christian watched her walk away, wishing that he lived in L.A.

However, instead of crossing the street to go left, Satine took a right and disappeared from sight.

The cab driver, who had also been watching the attractive woman started honking his horn.

"She go right, not left. She get lost. She not much dressed," he exclaimed, obviously alarmed.

"Go after her, then," Christian replied.

"No, cars no in street," the driver said exasperatedly.

"I'll go after her, then," Christian said as he got out of the car.

"No wait for you, street very busy," cab driver told Christian through the car window.

"That's ok, I think I know where I am, thanks for the ride."

Suddenly, a loud thunderous noise was heard although lightning was not seen.

Christian looked up at the sky briefly, noticing grey clouds approaching.

"Take, you need," the driver said to Christian, giving him a small umbrella, as he pointed to the sky.

"Thank you very much," Christian said, touched by the man's generosity.

"Problem no. Break leg, that is good luck?" the driver said, winking at Christian, who nodded just as the taxi sped away.

Christian smiled to himself and then ran in the direction Satine had gone.

In the meanwhile, Satine was still walking towards her hotel but nothing seemed familiar. She just wanted to get to her hotel, take a shower, and lie in bed feeling sorry for herself and the lame fact that she and Christian had been rescued too early.

'This sucks,' she thought, 'I finally get to know a guy who just might turn out to be Mr. Right, but then the time and place are completely wrong. It's not fair. I mean, I don't even know how I feel so how can I expect him to know how he feels? Really, who can foresee any kind of future after three days? It's like a decision needs to be made and time is running out, but we don't have the intelligence to we need to make that kind of decision. As a result, the decision-making process is inevitably doomed.'

Satine's quiet rant allowed her to diffuse her anger, as her mind calmed down.

'Even worse, even though I don't love him right now, I feel that one day I could. I may never have the chance to find out,' Satine concluded her inner monologue nostalgically, before adding frustratingly, 'Such a piece of shit!'

Another sound of thunder echoed, but this time it was louder. Satine sighed.

"Rain would just be the icing on today's crappy cake, wouldn't it?!" Satine muttered to herself wearily as she quickened her pace through the almost empty street – everyone had scurried off to their homes in preparation for the storm.

Satine looked at the napkin with Christian's contact info that she had been holding in her right hand. Below his two email addresses and two phone numbers was a little note. Bringing the napkin closer to her face, she focused her eyes on the handwriting.

_This is already a beautiful friendship, Maddie. _

_I hope it can be something more. _

_Love, David_

Despite her melancholy state, Satine smiled to herself. She loved the Moonlighting reference; it made the message sound indirect but Satine knew it was just a way to keep his heart safe in case she didn't feel the same way. It was _so_ Christian to know what to say to make her feel better, even when he wasn't there.

"Satine! Satine!" she heard someone yell from behind.

She turned around to find Christian running towards her with a cylindrical shaped object in his right hand. A few seconds later he was right in front of her, catching his breath.

"What's going on?" she inquired curiously.

"You took a wrong turn," Christian managed to say in between deep breaths, "Your hotel is to the left."

"Oh," Satine replied surprised, "But you needn't have troubled yourself, Christian."

"Well the driver implied…. It's not a big deal. I just didn't want you to get lost."

"I'm a big girl, Christian, but thank you," Satine said, softening her tone.

"You're welcome," Christian smiled, glad to be near Satine again.

"Where did you get the umbrella from?" Satine asked, pointing to the item in Christian's hand.

"The driver gave it to me. Nice chap. Good thing too, with this weather. Looks like it will start pouring any moment now. I left mine on the boat on the island."

"You brought your umbrella on a boat trip? I don't quite think an umbrella would help if you were stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean and it started raining."

"I always carry one with me. It's a habit."

When Satine laughed out loud, Christian gave her a quizzical look.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that I _never_ carry an umbrella. I don't even own one! They depress me; it's like expecting that the worst will happen. I live by focusing on the positive," Satine said.

"Or you make sure you live in Southern California," Christian challenged.

"For your information, I lived in Seattle for nine months without an umbrella. And that did not include the summer, mind you!"

"You lived in Seattle? You never told me that!" Christian accused Satine.

"Well… there are a _number_ of things I still haven't told you," Satine said, emphasizing the quantity and sounding very sensual. Even at the thought of impending rain she enjoyed teasing Christian.

Christian made a mental note to evoke Satine's latter response again in the near future since he had a number of excellent comebacks in mind, such as the line "You naughty naughty girl", which would be accompanied by some very appropriate body movements. Unfortunately, the pair's location was highly inappropriate for the very appropriate body movements, so Christian decided to pursue the umbrella issue.

He knew he was stalling but he didn't care. He was in her proximity and that's all that mattered. He desperately wanted to tell her not to go but he couldn't promise her anything right now. All he knew was that the mere thought of being apart from her made his insides ache. That, he thought, would not be enough to a rationalist such as Satine.

"So how come you weren't afraid of pneumonia in Seattle?"

"I just stayed out of the heavy rain and wore my hoodie. That, or I would jump under other people's umbrellas – it's a great way to make friends. Oh, and I also made sure my wet clothes never remained on me for long."

"I'm sure the latter was also a great way to make friends," Christian said, winking.

"As a matter of fact, it _was_ quite helpful," Satine said tactfully, "That's how I became best friends with Olivia."

Reading Satine had become like second nature to Christian; he was able to discern the subtle nuances of her tone of voice and thus, decipher her mood. He knew she was just trying to ruffle his feathers, so he called her bluff, saying, "Now that's a sight I would like to have seen."

"Oh, you men!" Satine said with a disgusted tone and rolling her eyes.

She proceeded to punch him affectionately in the arm, which Christian took as a hint to let the topic die with sultry dignity.

"So, anyway, a psychoanalyst would interpret your non-umbrella habit as an indication that there _is_ a part of you that thrives on surprise and spontaneity."

"Or…" Satine countered his assessment, "it could just be that I like to challenge myself since 'necessity is the mother of all inventions'."

"My bet is on surprise and spontaneity."

"I guess it's a good thing you're a photographer and not a shrink," Satine teased with a smile.

Christian smiled back.

"Well, I guess I should start heading back to the hotel before it starts raining," Satine changed the subject. As much as she was enjoying being in Christian's presence again, he had a plane to catch and the sooner they got their second awkward goodbye over, the better.

Satine linked her arm with Christian's and lead him to backtrack with her, before it occurred to her to ask, "Is your hotel this way as well?"

"Umm.. I'm not sure. I'll walk you to your hotel first… and then I can ask for directions there," Christian was running out of topics to stall his departure. He purposely walked unhurriedly, which by default substantially slowed down Satine as well.

"If I didn't know you had a plane to catch I would think that you were stalling," Satine teased him, wishing he would just go and let her feel sorry for herself on her own.

"My legs hurt for some reason," Christian lied, getting more desperate by the second. He never lied.

And then it started raining.

"Great, just great!" Satine complained out loud.

Christian stopped walking and let go of Satine's arm to open the umbrella.

"Not to worry, Satine," Christian attempted to calm her fears, "You can stand under my umbrella".

"What did you just say?" Satine asked, not believing that she was able to differentiate between what she wanted Christian to say and what he had actually said.

"I said that you can stand under my umbrella."

She knew he had heard the song in the cab, but he didn't know about her little radio game.

It _had_ to be a neon sign. Christian had said a line from a song she really liked, which was also the same song that was supposed to explain what was going on between her and Christian, plus there was actual rain and an actual umbrella. Really, how more neon could it get?

"Can you repeat that again?" Satine asked again, this time for the sake of her own pleasure.

Christian obliged, "You can stand under my umbrella."

"For as long as I like?"

"For as long as you like."

"How about… forever?" Satine asked hopefully, raising her left eyebrow.

Much to her surprise, Christian smiled and replied confidently, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Satine let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding and a big smile spread over her face.

"I love that megawatt smile of yours," Christian said kindly, caressing her cheek with his fingers.

As much as Satine wanted to give in to the moment, she couldn't shake off the feeling of uncertainty that plagued her entire association with Christian.

"What does this mean? I mean, what do we do next?" Satine's voice of reason spoke.

"How about we play it by ear? Think it's worked out quite well for us so far," Christian replied warmly, yet without much thought.

Satine felt she was being brushed off and his attitude exasperated her, "Be serious for a minute, Christian! Our ears won't exactly make that plane wait for you."

"That's true…" Christian said with a lost expression on his face. He was suddenly deep in thought.

Satine waited. He was the one leaving, not her. Therefore, he had to make the decision to stay. It was all quite logical, but she couldn't tell Christian that.

Out of the blue, Christian exclaimed excitedly, "Come with me!"

"What?"

"Come with me."

"Where?"

"To Scotland!"

"What?! You're insane. I'm supposed to be on vacation."

"So vacation in Scotland."

Satine paused for a moment, stunned; she hadn't thought of that. But it was crazy, she never made rash decisions, she needed to sleep on it. But there was no time. Although she wanted to go with Christian, Satine was uncertain and making the decision right then and there just felt wrong.

Christian saw Satine's apprehension and he knew that she needed him to take a leap of faith if she was to take one herself.

Christian looked at her intently, "Satine… My feelings are jumbled up just as much as yours. I can't make any promises and I don't know what the future holds. But what I do know is that I love the way I feel when I'm around you. Knowing what a wonderful time we have together, I think that this feeling could only get better with every extra day that I get to spend with you. Don't you think we owe it to ourselves to find out all the places this feeling could take us?"

"Okay," Satine stated simply.

"Okay what?"

"Okay to finding out and okay, let's go to Scotland."

"Are you sure?"

"I love the way I feel when I'm around you too."

"I was hoping you would say that."

Christian leaned in and slowly brushed his lips against Satine's. It felt so good to kiss her again; it had been six full hours since their last kiss.

Before the kiss deepened, Christian broke the contact, looking into Satine's eyes, "So you're definitely sure?"

"Well…" Satine said in a teasing tone.

"Sold for a _I love the way I feel around you_ to the lovely couple standing in the rain."

Satine laughed.

"Well then, that turned out to be quite easy," _cool Christian_ managed to utter arrogantly, as _regular Christian_ jumped with joy on the inside.

"Are you saying that I'm easy, mister?" Satine accused Christian.

"I am appalled, miss, that you could even think that I would ever say such a thing about a lady, least of all about you," Christian soothed dramatically.

Satine was smiling from ear to ear, she really did love being around Christian, it felt so easy and natural.

"So whaddya say I get out of these clothes? Wouldn't want me to catch pneumonia, would you?" Satine asked.

"Pneumonia, never! But darling, your clothes are dry."

Satine looked at Christian intently before giving him a devilish grin.

Then, she proceeded to take a large step backwards, positioning herself just out of the umbrella's reach, as Satine's skimpy clothes absorbed the heavy raindrops.

"They're wet now."

_---_

_The End. _


End file.
